


All She Ever Wanted

by ToMakeMeDreamofYou



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, BB-8 has arrived, Ben Solo Needs A Hug, Ben Solo has a dark past, Brief mention of past physical abuse against a female, Childhood Rey and Ben, Claiming Bites, Dirty Talk, Dominant Ben Solo, Don't Overthink It, F/F, F/M, Finn is the peanut friend we all need, Finn/Rey happens before she meets Ben, Flaring nostrils in every chapter, Fluff and Smut, For actual running, Happily Reylo After Ending, Like Filthy Dirty Talk, M/M, Mating, No actual threesomes take place in fic, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, Plot happens, Poe is sexy and smart, Porg is the word, Possessive Ben Solo, Possessive Rey, Promises are dangerous, Rey Needs A Hug, Rey learns to be assertive, Sassy Poe is sassy, Sex so hot you'd think it was Mustafar, Shameless Smut, Size Kink, Sneaky politics, Snoke Being a Dick, Some dubcon moments, Star Wars - Modern AU, Submissive Rey (Star Wars), The Author Regrets Nothing, This Is Not Going To Go The Way You Think, Unresolved Communication Issues, Who ordered the sweet sex, all aboard the pain train, angst happens, ben solo redemption, for the second time, it's difficult to tag due to ABO dynamics, it's not Rey, marathons, no virgins here, not just sex, referenced past forced dubcon/noncon, shameless fluff, still not Rey
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-30
Updated: 2018-09-30
Packaged: 2019-05-16 06:54:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 75,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14806481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ToMakeMeDreamofYou/pseuds/ToMakeMeDreamofYou
Summary: Smutty, funny, one-shot venture into writing my first A/B/O fic, and now it’s grown a plot, found some angst, and turned dark and stormy, with a 100% chance of partly sunny skies ahead that clear out for a happy Reylo ending.Rey's a smart, independent Omega, thank you very much. And the last thing she needs is a possessive Alpha taking over her life. Except that's exactly what happens when she reaches the finish line of her marathon and is absconded, bridal carry style, by her childhood crush, Ben Solo. Rey doesn't need no stinking marathon trophy, she's too busy having sex with Ben Solo in the Heat Tent.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Yep, so here's another A/B/O fic no one asked for. I have writer's block on my other story, and I've thoroughly enjoyed reading all of the ah-mazing A/B/O fics in this fandom. So here's my newbie attempt at some porn without plot. I'm still kind of shocked I wrote this flaming pile of smutastic trash. So there's that.
> 
> Enjoy!

This was a mistake. That’s the dominate thought churning through Rey’s mind as she darts around other runners, but no matter how fast she runs, or how many people she passes, she can’t escape his scent.

This. Was. A. Mis. Take.

She chants this to herself in time with each foot pounding the pavement. This shouldn’t be happening. She’s been diligent about taking her suppressants, especially since that incident years ago, after her first breakthrough heat. Rey had learned the hard way (she couldn’t help but to chuckle at herself) that any deviation from her suppressant routine—to include forgetting to take it because you’re too busy dancing and drinking the night away with friends to celebrate the end of finals week—had biological consequences.

Namely, a breakthrough heat, which is _so much worse_ than any other kind of heat. It comes on fast and furious and gives no quarter.

That first time, there hadn’t been any time to nest in her apartment or call Finn, her best friend, to help her through the first excruciating days. Finn’s a Beta, not an Alpha, but he’s fucked her through enough heats for her to know it doesn’t really matter if she takes a knot or not, she just needs the hormone high associated with a male coming inside her. With Finn, Rey always felt safe, and she didn’t have to worry about pesky emotional attachment—Finn’s mated with an Alpha, named Poe, who thankfully, doesn’t mind sharing his mate with Rey; hell, sometimes Poe even joins them, but only to be with Finn, never Rey—and she didn’t have to worry about the aggression and possessiveness Alphas lorded over needy Omegas lost in the hormonal throes of their heat. Besides, there’s only one Alpha Rey would ever consider being with, and that chance was blown out of the water years ago.

So, Rey had suffered through that breakthrough heat on her own for two days before Finn and Poe could get back from their trip to help her. Rey thought she was going to go mad before they arrived. Her fingers were too small to do anything more than take the edge off for an hour, at most. Her vibrator broke after the first day of overuse and she didn’t dare leave her apartment in her condition. She was a desperate, needy, sweaty hot mess by the time her men came to her rescue. They burst through her door, Finn had a key, with emergency suppressants, Gatorade, her favorite Chinese food and a new vibrator.

Rey may have proposed marriage to Finn no fewer than a dozen times. She most definitely attempted a mating bite on Finn, which very nearly caused Poe to call the whole thing off. Permanently.

She shuddered as she recalled just how needy she had become during that breakthrough heat. As a strong, independent Omega, she had vowed to never allow herself to be controlled by her biology like that again.

But here she is, near the end of her company’s yearly half-marathon, and the sweat dripping off her body isn’t just from the exertion needed to run 13.1 miles. Rey groaned as another tell tale cramp ripped through her abdomen. _No, no, no, no! Not here, not now!_ She mentally scoured her memory for any reason as to why her suppressant is failing her this time, but she’s coming up blank. Of course, that’s mostly because her mind is currently focused on following the mouthwatering scent of whatever Alpha she’s scented at this race, so she can present herself to him and beg him to rut this heat right out of her body.

And if her pace suddenly increases, it’s absolutely due to her runner’s high and nearing the end of the race and has nothing to do with the fact that this intoxicating scent is getting stronger as she nears the finish line. Rey whines softly as she feels her slick begin to run down her thigh. Thank the Gods she decided to wear running tights under her running shorts today.

Why, oh why, did she agree to run this half-marathon when she’s so close to her normal heat?

Because Leia Organa-Solo asked her personally, and no one says no to Leia Organa-Solo. No one.

Leia had insisted that it made sense to have her newest star Omega participate in Rebel Alliance’s annual half-marathon competition with their rival lobbyist group, The First Order. And Rey couldn’t say no to Leia.

So, here she is, about to get fired after humiliating herself and her boss when she reaches the finish line in a full-blown heat and starts screaming for that delicious smelling Alpha to come and claim her. Right. Fucking. Now.

For a brief moment, Rey considers veering off course to the parking garage and jumping in her car, but she quickly discards that idea. No doubt every Alpha within a few miles has scented her by now. Leaving the safety of the crowd is a sure fire way to end up mated with a random Alpha that she can’t fight off. It’s the main reason Rey is so diligent about her suppressants and why she will do whatever Leia asks, because Leia is the leading lobbyist for Omegas Consenting Rights. As it stands, Omegas can’t press charges against an Alpha that claims them when they are in heat, even if the Omega didn’t give explicit consent. Leia’s working to change the law so that consent must be given, no matter what state the Omega is in.

It’s not a popular viewpoint in a world run by Alphas that can claim as many Omegas as they wish, while Omegas are stuck with the one Alpha. It still shocks Rey to be living in such modern times with such antiquated notions towards sex.

Rey grits her teeth and tries to ignore the throbbing between her legs. She will finish this race, ask for a security escort like the smart, independent Omega she is, and make a frantic cell call to Finn on her way to his and Poe’s house. That’s the plan she’s come up with over the last 3 miles of the race.

She can do this.

She can do this.

She can’t do this.

Because at the finish line, standing _right next_ to Leia, her idol, is the most Alpha male that ever Alpha’d. The man is basically the spokesmodel for what it means to be Alpha. His impossibly tall and broad frame; Maker, just look at the way that running shirt stretches across his heaving chest as if it’s struggling to hold in his Alpha…ness. His big, _very big_ , hands clenching tightly at his side, every muscle in his body bunched up like a spring, ready to pounce.

Her body aims itself in his direction as her feet obey her hormones’ demands. No, she’s headed to Leia, her boss, that’s all. This doesn’t have anything to do with her flaring nostrils trying to inhale as much of this man’s heady scent as possible. Nope, nothing to do with every cell in her body screaming to submit to the Alpha towering over her petite boss like a dark predator. She must have crossed the finish line because now she’s standing in front of Leia and _him_ , a sweaty, panting mess. From the run she just finished. Not from the breakthrough heat she’s beginning to suspect was caused by the sweaty, panting mess of towering male standing just behind Leia.

Before she can stop herself, Rey leans forward and inhales deeply, eyes closing as she lets herself feel how his scent has her blood singing through her body. Her eyelids flutter open and she stares back into the dark abyss of his blown pupils as he, too, leans forward and inhales deeply, nostrils flaring and chest expanding as he continues to test the stretch of his shirt. But he doesn’t close his eyes. He holds her captive in his gaze and the rest of the world seems to fade away until all she can hear is her panting breath and blood thrumming through her ears, and all she can see is him, the Alpha and his hypnotic, but oddly familiar looking dark eyes. Her brow furrows as her brain fights against the tide of hormones lighting up her lizard brain. She knows those eyes.

“…this is not appropriate,” Leia snaps at the tall, dark-haired man who can’t seem to tear his eyes from Rey’s face, except to rake over her body, pausing at her lips for a second too long.

“Not now, mother,” he barks as he steps around Leia and invades Rey’s personal space. He is so tall and broad that he seems to blot out the sun. All she can see and smell and think about is him.

“Benjamin Solo, I am not above spanking you right here and now,” Leia bellows. And that yanks Rey out of the moment, blinking rapidly as her gaze flickered between her boss and the Alpha.

Benjamin Solo is Leia Organa-Solo’s son, everyone knows this, even Rey. Especially Rey. And everyone knows that Leia’s son turned his back on his family years ago when he went to work for Snoke at The First Order, the group that lobbies against everything Leia’s been fighting for in Omegas consent rights. But all the memories Rey has of growing up with Ben are of a young, gangly boy who hadn’t grown into his long limbs and big ears. How could that awkward kid have grown into…this towering specimen of Alpha. Sure, he’s missing the classical square jaw and proportional features one associates with being an Alpha. But his features work for him in their totality, especially with that wild mane of midnight hair that’s currently frizzing in the humidity.

And now that Rey’s brain has had a hot minute to process what’s happening, she realizes that the man standing before her is, in fact, the very same Ben Solo from her childhood. The one Alpha she promised herself to in childish innocence before he left for boarding school and never came back. The only Alpha she’s allowed to break her heart when she learned he sided with limiting Omegas, like her, consent rights.

“ _You_ did this to me,” Rey hisses up at Ben—and she has to crank her neck back to look up into his face—as her agitation grows. Whether that agitation is from her heat demanding to be sated or her realization of just who caused this situation, she couldn’t say. Probably both. “You’re the reason I’m having a breakthrough heat!” She taps his chest repeatedly with her pointer finger. For dramatic emphasis, and _not_ because she’s testing the bounce factor of his muscles.

“Well _you_ triggered _my_ rut, little Omega,” he snarls back, baring his teeth as he leans down into her face. This close she can see every mole and beauty mark on his face. Suddenly he yanks her to his chest, one arm closing like a vice to lock her in place, and the other reaches up to gently cup her face, tilting her head until her scent gland is exposed. Before she can react to what she knows he’s about to do, he’s licking a long, wet stripe up her neck and over her scent gland, which throbs under the pressure of his tongue. Rey whimpers low in her throat and tilts her head further in a clear sign of submission. Ben’s chest rumbles as he attacks her neck with his plush lips, nipping and licking up her neck and over her gland before he breaks off to rub his neck on hers. He’s just scented her. 

”I’ve scented you so the other Alphas will leave alone. You’re safe, Rey,” Ben whispers in her ear. Rey’s frozen in his grasp, at war with her hormones and her heart. “But don’t think for one second that I don’t want to bury my cock deep inside you and knot you.” His breath is hot in her ear, or maybe it’s just his words. “This is your decision, not mine. I believe in your right to consent, Rey.”

“Not on my watch! Now that is enough!” Leia bellows as she latches both of her hands onto one of her son’s tree trunk arms and tries to physically yank him off her favorite employee. “Don’t worry, Rey, I can handle this. Go on home while I deal with my idiot son, who was taught better manners than this, by the way.” Leia gives up on wrenching his arm free of Rey, and instead reaches up and grabs said idiot son by his ear and proceeds to pull with all her might. Ben doesn’t budge.

There’s a crowd gathering quickly now. Everyone wants to watch what is sure to be the hottest gossip on the political circuit: Leia Organa-Solo’s Omega employee mounted and mated by her Alpha son, who just happens to be an executive at The First Order, in front of everyone. Because biology.

“No, wait,” Rey wails, her brain firing off a constant barrage of _submittoyourAlpha_ and _pleaseyourAlpha_ and she just can’t think with all the noise inside her head and outside. She looks to her boss, the woman she looks up to and hopes to emulate someday, her lips trembling. “I want him. I consent!” Oh, how she wants him. She’s wanted him for damn near 10 years now. She blushes as she recalls the numerous fantasies she thought of during that breakthrough heat years ago, before Finn and Poe could help. Every single fantasy had been about the Alpha standing before her now, smelling like her destiny all rolled up into a chocolate croissant.

Her boss just blinks back at her, at a loss for words, for once. Ben just smirks and rises to his full height; his mother’s hand falls limply to her side.

“Rey, you don’t have to give in to this,” Leia insists, the worry clear on her face.

“I know,” she answers, “But I want to. I consent to my Alpha, to B-ben.” Rey grits her teeth as her abdomen spasms hard, causing her knees to give out. She never hits the pavement and instead finds herself scooped up in Ben’s strong arms in a bridal carry.

“Don’t worry, my little Omega. I’m going to take good care of you,” he murmurs softly, so only she can hear.

“Yes, Alpha,” she whispers back. Ben growls, loudly, and tightens his grip as he marches away from the crowd and towards the Heat Tent. Every public event has a Heat Tent, for emergency purposes only, mind you. Such as when your boss’s hormone super nova of an Alpha son triggers a breakthrough heat at the same time you trigger his rut. Like that. It’s heavily secured by Beta security officers, discreetly soundproofed to prevent further humiliation, outside of having to enter such a tent in the first place and kept chilled for comfort. It’s not called a heat for nothing.

“Don’t you dare hurt her, Benjamin Solo!” Leia shouts at her idiot son’s retreating form, a knowing smile spreading across her face.

In the close proximity of his arms, his scent envelopes her senses and does funny things to brain. She’s never been with an Alpha before, so she’s not sure how much of this reaction is normal. She also can’t seem to care. Emboldened by the hormones flooding her system, Rey leans up and licks his scent gland. His answering moan emboldens her, and she begins to imitate his nips and licks from earlier. His skin tastes delicious and she doesn’t think she’ll ever get enough.

“Good little Omega,” he purrs as he stomps through the door of the Heat Tent. At his praise, Rey’s core clenches and more of her slick leaks down her thighs to soak her running tights. She whines as she starts rubbing her thighs together, desperate for friction.

“Please, Alpha, oh please,” she begs, though what she’s begging for she’s not sure. Yes, she’s had sex before, and yes, she’s had sex to ease a heat. But she’s never had sex with an Alpha, and the way her hormones are responding to his scent is entirely new to her. She’s never felt so desperate for a cock as she does right now.

Ben dumps her onto the bed without warning, knocking the air from her lungs. He wastes no time in climbing up her body, caging her in with his arms as he nudges her legs apart with his knees. “I’m going to fuck you on my cock so good, little Omega,” he growls as he begins to pull her running shorts and tights down her thighs. He tosses her clothes off the side of the bed before running his big hands up her thighs. Her skin is feverishly hot, but his hands feel even hotter as they burn a path of sensation to the apex of her thighs. For a moment he just hovers there, kneeling over her naked lower half as his eyes devour her pulsing core. She can feel her slick pooling on the bed beneath her as he continues to stare, pupils blown wide and nostrils flaring.

“Please, Alpha,” she pleads in a quivering voice, her eyes wide with need. She wanted to explore every inch of his beautiful body and have him do the same to her in turn, but there isn’t time right now. She needs relief and she needs it right fucking now.

His eyes burn brightly into hers as he pulls his shorts off and yanks his shirt over his head. He is deliciously bare to her and she rakes her gaze down his perfectly sculpted chest to the tight v of muscles leading to his big, beautiful, throbbing Alpha cock.

“Fuck, you’re big,” she mumbles before she can stop herself. Of course, he’s big. There’s not a damn thing small about this man, from his body to his presence, he is big. Rey starts panting in fear, because she and Finn usually have to give it a moment for her to adjust to his cock, and he’s nowhere near as big as the Alpha looming over her, with what can only be described as a smirk of pride on his luscious lips.

“And you’re going to take every inch of me, Omega,” he orders, and Rey finds herself nodding vigorously in response. Her mind a streaming babble of _anythingyousayAlpha_. He takes himself in hand and rubs the spongy head of his cock through her soaked folds. “So wet for your Alpha,” he groans out as he continues to rub his length through her slick to coat himself. Rey keens.

“Yes!” Rey shouts as he bumps her clit. He immediately mashes a thumb down on her clit to rub it in tight circles. The pressure is almost too much, and her body is overwhelmed by the sensation.

“Yes, what,” he demands.

Oh.

“Yes, _Alpha_ ,” she cries as he continues to rub her clit in near painful circles of pleasure. She’s dimly aware that she’s babbling something, but she doesn’t care. Her world has narrowed to the sensations her Alpha is creating between her legs. The familiar warmth and tightness in her core that signals her impending orgasm builds at a breakneck pace. Her hair is tangling as her head swipes back and forth on the bed, her body writhing in pleasure. Ben takes his other hand and firmly, but gently, holds her hips in place.

“That’s it, Rey, lie there and take it like a good little Omega,” he coos in his impossibly deep voice. His words, that voice…they do things to her.

“Please, please, pleasepleaseplease,” she sobs.

“Come for me,” Ben commands.

And she shatters. Rey’s back arches sharply off the bed and she throws her head back, her mouth gaping open in a silent scream as her body shudders in pleasure. Her orgasm hits her hard, stealing the breath from her lungs. When at last her body crumbles back into the bed in a boneless heap, Ben quickly flips her body over like she weighs nothing. He yanks her hips up and back and impales her onto his cock in one swift motion, burying his throbbing heat to the hilt into her core. The copious amounts of slick her heat produced eases his entrance, but she hisses at the stretch to accommodate his girth.

Ben let out a choked laugh. “Fuck, you’re so damn tight,” he pants. He gingerly begins to rock his hips. The fit is impossibly tight. Rey shudders to think how this would have gone if she had been a virgin.

“Is this ok?” Ben askes softly. The change in tone is so surprising that Rey turns to look up at him over her shoulder. What she sees makes her heart stutter. Ben is frozen above her, careful not to move his hips and cause her any discomfort. He’s trembling from the effort to not mindlessly rut into her willing body. She expected an Alpha in full rut to not care, but the look on Ben’s face tells her he’s no ordinary Alpha. This is her Ben, the one she remembered childhood. The one who carried her on his back for 4 blocks when she fell off her bike and skinned her knees as a skinny teenager. The one who left a daisy, her favorite flower, in her locker at school for her birthday when her foster parents forgot. The one who let her lecture him, endlessly, on his nutrition choices as a growing teenage boy. He looked concerned and lost and sad and hungry, all at once. But most of all, he looked like he cared about her.

She nods mutely in response, turning her head back to bury it into the bedding before he can see the tears in her eyes. She holds her breath waiting for him to start moving again.

“Rey,” he whispers.

Fine. This independent Omega will just take the lead. She props herself up onto her elbows and uses the leverage to thrust her body back into his. Ben gasps and curls his fingers tightly into her hips. Another glance over her shoulder and she sees the heat return to his gaze as he smiles lasciviously down at her.

“Naughty. Little. Omega,” he pants, punctuating each word with a snap of his hips into hers. Rey can’t stop the sounds falling from her lips. Her little moans and gasps seem to drive Ben on as he begins to thrust harder and faster, hitting that spot deep inside that no one has ever been able to reach before. They find a rhythm together, with Rey grinding back into each of his thrusts as he licks and sucks at her neck and shoulders.

“I need to feel you come on my cock before I knot you, little Omega,” her Alpha demands. Rey shivers as he continues to rub into that spot deep inside her.

“Keep doing that and I’ll come for you, Alpha,” she whines in response, opening her knees wider to angle her hips higher and help Ben hit that spot again. Somewhere in the rational part of her brain, Rey cringes at just how desperate and needy she is right now, but the heat in her belly is coiling tight again and her clit is tingling with her oncoming orgasm.

“Come for me, Rey,” Ben commands roughly. He’s close, she can tell. His knot is already starting to bump at her entrance with each thrust.

With a roar he rams himself deep into her body, his knot ballooning rapidly to lock itself inside her. Her walls spasm around him as she bears down in her orgasm. Ben grunts with each clench of her cunt as the aftershocks rock through her body. He continues to pump his cock in short thrusts as he spurts rope after rope of hot cum deep inside her. The effect of this is nearly instant. All at once, Rey’s body relaxes, her skin cools and the cramps in her belly subside. She blinks with heavy eyelids and collapses into the mattress, causing a stabbing pain as she tugs on the knot still buried within her.

“Oh,” she cries, as Ben groans and throws himself down on top of her to prevent his knot from being yanked out of the sweet Omega beneath him.

“Don’t move,” he grunts as he maneuvers them onto their sides, with Rey’s back pressed tightly into his chest. “You have to stay still until the knot deflates.”

“Sorry,” she mumbles, her face burning with embarrassment. “I’ve never been with an Alpha before.”

Ben moans, long and low, as her words seem to trigger another round of cum to spurt inside her. She giggles softly as he gives a few half-hearted thrusts before settling back down.

“You need to warn an Alpha before you say things like that,” he growls and nips at her shoulder. She grins wide as they burrow into each other to snuggle while they wait.

Of course, with her heat sated, all of Rey’s normal doubts and insecurities come crashing down. What is she supposed to say to Ben now? Once his knot is deflated, is that it? Do they just part ways? Will he no longer want her now that he’s had her? Does she even want him knowing that he supports a group hellbent on stripping her rights away? She has no idea how long her heat will lie dormant after having an Alpha. With Finn, it was only a matter of hours before her heat would reignite. They usually hunkered down in her apartment for at least 2-3 days until she reached a point that just her vibrator could take care of the itch. An Alpha’s sperm is potent and should have a longer lasting effect on her heat, but Rey’s never bothered to read the literature on it because she never thought she would ever be with an Alpha.

“Stop overthinking, it’s making too much noise,” Ben mutters.

“Sorry,” Rey squeaks.

“Don’t overthink this, Rey,” he admonishes her further, but cards his fingers through her hair, gently working out the knots she worked into her hair.

“Ok,” she responds softly.

“I fully intend to drag you to my house, tie you to my bed and fuck you for the next three days. That’s just the kind of mood I’m in,” he chuckles darkly, his hand drifting from her hair to the scent gland on her neck. He lazily draws patterns onto her gland, his cock twitching as her breath hitches.

“O-okay,” she breathes.

“And when we’re tired of being in bed together, which I’m guessing will be never, I’d like to take you out on a proper date. Maybe grab some coffee. Catch up with each other. I can tell you what I’ve really been doing the past couple of years.”

Rey can’t stop the grin spreading across her face. She turns her face back to his, her hazel eyes dancing with a contended happiness she’s never felt before and gives him a nod. She’s not sure she can trust her voice not to crack with emotion right now, so she sighs and snuggles back into Ben’s chest. Her Alpha.

“When mother and I are done tearing apart The First Order, and once I’ve taken you on enough dates to satisfy my mother’s delicate sensibilities, I intend to bite you right here,” he rakes his fingernail over her sensitive gland, causing her skin to erupt in goosebumps. “I intend to mark you and claim you as mine, little Omega. Like I should have done all those years ago.”

Rey shivers as tears stand in her eyes, threatening to spill over as her heart clenches. It’s all she’s ever wanted to hear. Someone wants her, wants to proclaim for all the world to see that she is irrevocably wanted and claimed and loved. By her Benjamin Solo.

It’s all she’s ever wanted, and now it’s hers.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I have a vague idea of where this is going, but mostly I'm along for the ride just like all of you. No real smut in this chapter (SO sorry), but you do get a sweet kiss (because I failed to have our lovebirds kiss last chapter, oops), some funny angst (that's a thing, right?), some more power Leia, our favorite boy-band Finn and Poe, and some fluff. Awwww. More smut in the next chapter, promise! And hopefully I have the guts to write the smut scene floating in my head...it's downright nasty. lol

Rey’s never been one for returning things after purchase. It’s a hassle, especially when you hate shopping to begin with, and she’s always felt like it’s her responsibility to hold onto whatever item she bought, even if it turned out to be a bad decision. But she’s giving very serious consideration to making her first return.

Rey wants to return Ben. Return him to his mother. Return to sender. No receipt, no problem.

Turns out Ben’s knot lasts longer than the blissed out, contended high it caused. In the future, Rey will look back on this moment and laugh, because she really should have known better. But right now? Right now, Rey wants to slash Ben’s face open with her fingernails, take a long, cold shower and lose herself in Finn’s help with the bloody heat the idiot currently knotted inside her started with his rudely delicious scent.

But first, they have to wait until Ben’s knot shrinks down enough that they can extricate themselves from each other. They’ve been locked together for fifteen minutes, and they’ve been lying in simmering anger with each other for exactly thirteen minutes of those fifteen minutes. Rey has never given much consideration to how long it would take a knot to deflate, but it feels like the far side of forever at this point.

“Are you sure you can’t speed this process along?” She fumes, fingers drumming along her crossed arms.

“Yes, I’m sure,” Ben snaps. She can feel his chest expand as he inhales deeply, only to forcibly expel the air from his lungs directly into her hair. Rey scowls.

“Knock it off!”

“I can’t stop breathing just because you’re angry,” he mutters. And she knows, just knows, that he’s rolling his eyes at her. Rey takes another experimental tug of her hips. Ben hisses and immediately grips her hips to keep her in place. “Stop. Doing. That.”

“Then make your knot go away so I can get dressed and never see you again,” Rey demands, craning her head back to glare at the Alpha she thought only minutes before was the answer to all of her prayers.

“That’s not how it works!”

Now it’s Rey’s turn to roll her eyes before turning away with a huff.

“This was a mistake,” she whispers to herself, though she’s not certain exactly what part of this mess she’s referring to. Perhaps it’s the most recent part, where she thought she was giving her Alpha a compliment by telling him how his cock is more satisfying than Finn’s. Or perhaps it’s the part where she followed that statement by asking Ben if he thought they would only need 2-3 days of fucking to get through their heat and rut respectively, since that’s how many days she usually needed Finn. Apparently not all Alphas are as laid back about other partners as Poe Dameron.

Lesson number one of sex with Alphas: never talk about another cock while knotted with a current cock.

Rey’s hair ruffles as Ben gives another exasperated sigh behind her and they return to stewing in silence for another five minutes, or maybe it’s hours, Rey’s not sure anymore. Being locked in so intimate an embrace as this with someone you want to maim or murder—both seem like viable options at this point—is sheer agony. She doubles down on her resolve to never, ever sleep with an Alpha. Again.

“Seriously, how much longer is this going to take?” Rey wails.

“I don’t know, I’ve never knotted anyone before,” comes the grumbling reply behind her.

Wait, what? Rey twists her upper body around to look at Ben.

“How is that even possible?”

Ben shrugs and quirks his eyebrows up. “I’ve always pulled out just before it could happen.”

Alphas are driven to knot, it’s a biological imperative hardwired into Alpha DNA. It’s biology that can’t be overcome, or so Rey had always thought. She frowns in confusion. “But, why?”

“There’s only one Omega I’ve ever wanted to knot, and I promised myself she would be the only one I shared myself with in that way,” he responds in a conversational tone, but the intensity of his eyes gives him away. Her heart hammers in her chest as she digests his words. Could it really be possible that they’ve been waiting for each other this whole time? Suddenly she can’t remember why she’s so mad at the beautiful man whose liquid brown eyes are burning into her soul at this very moment.

“Me?” She asks, her breathy voice shaking with emotion. His generous mouth breaks into a smile that Rey can’t help but mirror back at him.

“Yes, my little Omega. You. Just you,” he smirks at her, one of his long fingers tapping her lightly on the nose. She doesn’t think, just acts on instinct as she twists her body fully around because she must kiss her Alpha. Right fucking now.

“Oh,” they cry out together as his knot slips painlessly from her core with a soft pop sound. Rey stares in awe at the sheer size of the knot that only moments before made her feel so incredibly full and whole. Her mouth waters as she realizes how much bigger it must have been to have locked inside her.

“Rey,” he whispers reverently, and there’s no mistaking the look of pure adoration in his shining eyes. She sighs at the first brush of his soft lips on hers. The kiss is sweet and innocent, a first kiss between crushes and not the heated kiss of lovers, and it’s perfect. A soft whimper sounds in the back of her throat and suddenly the kiss is anything but innocent. Ben growls as he increases the pressure of his lips, licking at the seam of her mouth to demand entrance. Rey parts her lips for him and he sets about mapping her mouth with his tongue. Soon they are panting, his tongue plunging in and out of her mouth in a simulation of what he had done to her with his cock. Their reverie is shattered a moment later with an obtrusive pounding on the door of the Heat Tent followed by the grating chime of the comm, the only way for the outside to communicate with the occupants of the tent.

Ben’s grip tightens and a growl rumbles in his chest as Rey pulls back from his kiss. “We have to answer them, Ben,” she pants, breathless from the emotion of the moment. “If we don’t, they’ll tear down the door.” It’s a safety precaution couples must agree to before they can make use of a Heat Tent. Leia herself is the reason this precaution is backed by law now.

“I know, I know,” he grumbles as he stretches his one long arm to slam his hand over the comm. “Fuck off,” he barks into the speaker.

Rey quirks an eyebrow at him. Alphas are notoriously temperamental during their ruts and Ben is no exception.

“Watch your language, Benjamin Solo,” came the unmistakable voice of one Leia Organa-Solo. Rey can barely contain her laughter at the stricken look that falls over her Alpha’s face, his eyes widening owlishly.

“What do you want, mother?” And is Ben whining into the speaker now? Yes, Ben is whining.

“I want to know that my favorite employee is alive and well and unharmed,” Leia orders, and Rey can just picture the tiny woman scowling into the speaker next to the door, hands on hips.

“I’m fine, Leia!” Rey shouts merrily from the bed.

“Good. Get dressed and get out here. Both of you,” Leia commands and then the comm goes silent. She didn’t bother waiting for an answer.

“My mother may be the only person alive capable of killing an Alpha’s drive during his rut,” Ben mutters as he lumbers about the tent looking for his clothing.

The comm suddenly crackles back to life. “And you owe me an apology for your language and behavior, Benjamin Solo.”

Rey and Ben freeze, staring at the comm as if it were possessed.

“You probably owe Rey an apology by now as well.”

Rey doubles over with laughter, tears streaming down her face.

“That’s enough, mother!” Ben shouts into the tent, not the comm, of course. He snarls as he rips the comm unit out of the wall and slams it, repeatedly, onto the floor until it’s reduced to pieces.

Rey grimaces as she stands up from the bed and feels Ben’s cum burn a hot trail down her legs as it slides out of her core. She uses her running tights to clean herself up as best she can and then decides to leave the tights behind. They’re soaked in hers and Ben’s bodily fluids, no way is she putting them back on and she’s certainly not going to carry them back to her car in a blatant walk of shame. Her running shorts will have to suffice until she gets home.

She winces in the glaring sunlight as they exit the tent, taking a moment for her eyesight to adjust from the dim lighting in the tent. Standing before her are two armed security guards and Ben’s mother, who looks irritated at having to wait around while her son rutted one of her employees. Rey’s face burns with embarrassment, though she notes that the Alpha beside her looks pleased, almost proud, as he slips an arm around her shoulders and tugs her into his side.

“See, mother, Rey’s just fine. So am I, by the way,” he reports with a smirk.

And as if this moment couldn’t get any more awkward, Rey feels more of Ben’s cum slide out of her aching folds and trickle down her thigh, her running shorts doing nothing to stop the fluid’s trajectory. She sees Leia’s nostrils flare and is reminded that her boss is, in fact, an Alpha, too. Which means she probably also smelled Rey’s heat before. Rey wants to melt into a puddle and disappear at this very moment. She’s pretty certain she’s redder than a lobster at this point. Thank the Maker the two Beta guards can’t smell anything.

“I need to go home and…get cleaned up,” Rey mumbles, eyes downcast as she crab walks her way around the guards before picking up a full on run back to her car. She’s covered in Ben’s scent, inside and out, so she doesn’t need to worry about being harassed by other Alphas. The trip back to her car is without incident, but she doesn’t allow herself to relax until she’s standing under the blissful waterfall of cold water in her shower. She can’t afford many luxuries in life, but the rainfall shower head she bought and installed is worth every penny. Her skin is pruning by the time she turns off the water and towels off. She hums to herself as she pulls on an old pair of soft terry shorts and a tank top and finger combs her wet hair. Her stomach growls at her, reminding her that she hasn’t eaten anything since the night before. She hates running with food in her tummy. There’s not much to eat in her apartment as she rarely keeps groceries on hand unless her heat is imminent, so she grabs her phone to call in an order to her favorite Chinese place. A quick glance at her phone’s screen shows no fewer than ten missed calls and six new text messages, all from the same unfamiliar number. They didn’t leave a voicemail so she clicks over to the text messages.

Every single message is from Ben. She lets out a string of curses into her empty apartment. She forgot about Ben! Wow, Alpha sperm is certainly potent if she was able to forget about her heat in the face of extreme embarrassment, like having your boss scent her son’s cum on you right after you emerge from having the best sex of your life with said son. The obvious urgency of Ben’s text messages clearly shows that their sex didn’t have the same long-lasting calming effect on him. He’s in frantic Alpha mode searching for his lost Omega, and he’s getting desperate. Rey smiles to herself. Her big, tough Alpha is needy for her and only her and that’s a heady realization. She quickly types off her address and then orders the entire left side of the menu from the little Chinese place around the corner. Ben’s a big guy and she assumes he’ll need the extra food for all of the energy a rut burns.

Less than five minutes later there’s a knock at her door followed by the sound of a key turning the lock before the door swings open.

“Hey peanut! How was the race?” Finn asks as he and Poe stroll into her apartment, their arms loaded with snacks. Poe winks at her as he breezes into her tiny kitchen to start putting things away before he freezes.

Crap! Rey had forgotten all about the movie night she had planned with Finn and Poe today.

“Rey,” Poe says, his nostrils flaring. Maker, Rey has had enough of the flaring nostrils for one day. “Why do you smell like you’re in heat? And you absolutely reek of Alpha,” Poe remarks, his beautiful mouth turning down into a frown. Wait, since when has Poe’s lips been considered beautiful? Rey clutches her abdomen as the cramps begin, sweat trickles down her back. Oh, no. No, no, no, no! She can only guess that Poe’s Alpha presence has pushed her heat back into play a bit early.

“You both need to leave. Now,” she grits out, panting through the pain in her middle. Finn’s glancing curiously between her and Poe.

“What’s going on, peanut? Your heat isn’t due until next weekend,” he states. Of course her sweet friend would have it marked on his calendar. Finn never lets her down.

“Breakthrough heat,” she explains.

“Oh, well it’s a good thing we already had plans to be here,” Finn responds cheerfully, taking his jacket off and gripping the hem of his shirt as he made ready to pull it over his head.

“Stop!” Rey shouts in unison with Poe, causing Finn to flinch and throw his hands up in surrender.

“What’s wrong?” Finn asks slowly, his gaze sliding from Poe to Rey and back again.

“My Alpha is on his way and you can’t be here when he gets here,” Rey explains. Her eyes plead silently with Finn not to ask questions. Finn apparently doesn’t get the memo.

“Since when do you have an Alpha? What’s going on?” he demands, hands on his hips. Poe scurries out of the kitchen, grabbing Finn’s jacket and slaps it into his mate’s chest.

“Come on, babe, we need to get out of here,” Poe drawls.

“B-but wha—” Finn stutters.

“Now’s not the time, babe. Let’s go,” Poe says as he tugs his mate towards Rey’s door. The door that is swinging open again, Ben’s towering Alpha form swallowing the space of the door frame. When did her door get so small? Ben’s eyes dart wildly between the three occupants of the apartment. His pupils are blown wide, chest heaving as he lurches through the door and slams it shut behind him.

“Which one of you fuckers is Finn?” Ben snarls as he crouches into a predatory stance, his fists coming up in a clear sign of aggression.

Oh, no. It’s the last thought Rey has before all hell breaks loose.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone fetch me some Holy water for writing this chapter. 
> 
> It's not a joke that the dirty talk is filthy dirty talk. It's kind of borderline demeaning at one point, but remember the context of the A/B/O dynamic. I do not condone it outside of this genre.
> 
> There are moments that can be a bit dubconish. Rey knows when to give a hard no, but she pushes her limits and Ben’s clueless (not an excuse). It WILL be addressed in the very next chapter! 
> 
> Bonus points to anyone who can spot the Girls quote. 
> 
> Enjoy, ya filthy animals!

Pure blood Alphas and Omegas are rare these days. Scientist have been unable—or unwilling, as Leia suspects—to pinpoint just why there’s a decline in the pure Alpha and Omega genomes. Oddly enough, pure Omegas are nearly endangered, while pure Alphas are merely on a decline. Most people are a mix of Alpha and Omega, or even Beta. For instance, while Rey is mostly Omega, her genome also includes some Alpha DNA. And while Finn is mostly Beta, his genome contains some Omega DNA. It’s one of the reasons he and Poe work so well together. There’s also the fact that Finn is Finn, and he’s hot as hell with a heart of gold and a loyalty streak a mile wide. But Ben and Poe are both 100% pure Alpha male, and two pure Alphas in close quarters while in mate-protection mode, with one Alpha in rut, is a lethal combination.

Before Rey can blink, Poe and Ben are circling each other as they each eye their opponent. It’s clear to everyone that Ben has the obvious physical advantage, but Poe’s hot headed and never backs down from a fight. Rey and Finn have been asked to escort Poe out of a drinking establishment more times than any of them care to discuss.

This is the worst worst-case scenario.

Naturally, Finn takes this moment to open his mouth.

“You know damn well that I’m Finn, Solo. We went to the same school together with Rey,” Finn huffs as he taps one foot, arms crossed tightly across his chest. He has the audacity to look offended too. Rey wonders how Finn has survived this long while being so utterly clueless, until she remembers that she’s been protecting him since childhood, having both been a part of the same foster care system, until he met Poe their sophomore year of college. Well, really, it was mutual protection since Finn’s been helping her safely take care of her heats since she presented, a late bloomer, at almost 15. After Ben disappeared to boarding school.

“It was a rhetorical question, _traitor_!” Ben bellows as he stomps one foot, ripping his gaze from Poe to glower at Finn. With Ben temporarily distracted, Poe launches himself into center mass and takes Big Ben down with a thud.

“Timber, you Sasquatch-looking motherfucker,” Poe shouts as he throws himself down on Ben’s prone form. Sassy Poe is sassy, even in the face of imminent death.

“ _Ben_ is your Alpha?” Finn asks incredulously as he gestures to the rolling mass of Alphas duking it out on her apartment floor. “Ben Solo, the Alpha who broke your heart 10 years ago! Really, Rey, I expected better of you.” Finn’s really getting himself worked up over this, and she understands where he’s coming from, because Finn has had to nurse her broken heart through every heat where she begged for Ben when it was Finn inside her instead.

“Oof,” Ben grunts from somewhere under Poe. Suddenly Rey remembers that Poe went to college on a wrestling scholarship. As an undefeated champ.

“Stop!” Rey shrieks frantically. She tries to throw herself between the two grown ass men grunting and punching each other as they fight for dominance, but another heat cramp rips through her abdomen and she falls to her knees, biting her lower lip to keep herself from crying out. She knows instinctively any sounds of distress she gives will only further inflame her Alpha. At the moment, she’s torn between her loyalty to Finn, and Poe by extension, and her desire to soothe her Alpha. It’s biology, she knows, but it’s also sentiment. For here is her long-lost love from childhood and he’s fighting for her honor. At least, that’s what he thinks he’s doing, she grumbles to herself.

“Are you ok, peanut?” Finn rushes to her side, bending over to gently pull her back to her feet. He wraps his arms around her in a practical embrace to keep her from falling back down.

He might as well have jumped into a pit of starving dogs covered in bacon grease.

“Get your fucking hands off my mate,” Ben roars from the floor, and just like that, he flips Poe over so fast the smaller man hits his head with a loud thud. He’s only dazed, but it’s enough to take him down for the count. Ben moves with a swift cat-like grace that belies his large size, launching himself to his feet and at Finn in the same smooth motion.

Finn didn’t stand a chance. He lets out a startled yelp, his eyes bugging wide as he’s yanked off Rey and into the nearest wall. Fortunately, Rey’s limited funds mean she lives in a small apartment, so Finn doesn’t travel far. Unfortunately, it also means Ben’s not far behind. Rey feebly grabs at her Alpha’s wrist, but the combination of the race, lack of food, and her heat, have zapped her of all strength and he slips through her grasp. She’s overwhelmed by how helpless she is to protect her friends.

Ben wraps one giant hand around Finn’s throat, the other pulled back threateningly.

“If you ever touch my mate again, I will kill you,” Ben seethes, voice low and lethal.

“Ben!” She yells.

“Rey belongs to me now. Do you understand that, _Beta_?” Finn nods as vigorously as he can considering the Alpha’s mitts currently squeezing his airway.

“Ben!”

“Your services are no longer needed now that she has a real man to knot her properly,” Ben sneers. And Rey wishes she could be mad about the words coming out of Ben’s mouth, but she’s not. Not by a long shot. Her core clenches down on nothing as her slick begins to drip out of her. She wants nothing more than to take the knot her Alpha is bragging about.

“Alpha, _please_ ,” Rey whines and that gets his attention. Ben releases Finn’s neck and turns towards his whimpering Omega just as Poe pulls himself up from the floor.

“I’m here, sweetheart,” Ben coos as he cups her face with both hands. His whisky colored eyes visibly soften as he holds her gaze.

“What the fuck is your problem, man,” Poe demands, one arm wrapped tightly around his mate, his dark eyes flashing as he locks Ben in his sights. Rey knows that look, and she panics. It’s the only explanation she has for what she does next, because she doesn’t want any blood shed in her name. Not when she needs at least one of the males present to fuck her.

Hard.

And deep.

She allows her biology to take over, giving into the voice in her head chanting _sootheyourAlphapleaseyourAlpha_.

So, Rey sinks to her knees. Without hesitation, her hands yank Ben’s running shorts—the man still hasn’t changed from his race clothes—and Ben’s cock springs free. He’s half-hard already from the adrenaline of the moment and Rey’s mouth waters at the sheer length and girth of the cock before her.

“Maker, you could club baby seals with that thing,” Poe marvels in awe as he openly stares at Ben’s exposed crotch.

“Congratulations, peanut. You go girl,” Finn rasps, one of his hands rubbing gingerly at his obviously sore throat while the other gives her a shaky thumbs-up. Poe winks at her with a smirk, still staring at her Alpha.

Rey can’t help but grin at their appraisal, a sense of satisfaction tingling up her spine. Good Omegas get good cock. A quick glance up shows her Alpha also can’t resist preening at the unexpected praise. She should feel some sense of shame when she wraps her lips around the head of his cock and sinks, slowly, down his long, veiny shaft until he hits the back of her throat. But she doesn’t, not even in the part of her that isn’t overwhelmed by hormones. Besides, this is nothing she hasn’t done before in front of Poe, or to Finn, anyway.

“Oh, fuck, _yes_ ,” Ben hisses. He tilts his head back and closes his eyes as he lets out a long moan, his fingers tangling themselves into her hair to hold her head in place as he slowly pumps his cock further down her throat. She wouldn’t have pegged Ben with a voyeurism kink, but how else to explain the fact that he’s openly fucking her mouth as two other men watch in stunned silence.

Don’t be silly, she chides herself. This isn’t voyeurism. This is an Alpha claiming his Omega in front of his competition. She mentally shrugs away any concern she should have and happily gives into the moment with a moan as Ben’s now fully erect cock plunges down her throat again.

“We should…umm…get g-going,” Finn stammers from somewhere off to her side, but Rey’s eyes are locked onto Ben’s as she rises up on her knees to sink onto his cock until her nose hits hair. She inhales deeply, his Alpha scent more potent in this particular spot. She whines around his cock as saliva slips from the corners of her mouth.

“That’s it, baby, swallow my cock like a good little Omega,” Ben purrs above her. He’s enjoying this display and has no plans to stop now. He’ll happily fuck her until she screams his name in front of their audience.

Rey attempts to mumble an answer with her mouth full of cock, but she settles for enthusiastically bobbing her head up and down his length instead. Sometimes actions speak louder than words. He tastes like a combination of her and sweaty, sexy Alpha and Rey can’t get enough of it. She runs the tip of her tongue under his shaft and sucks hard when just the head of him is in her mouth. Ben chokes out a moan as his hips buck into her greedy mouth.

With her Alpha pleased, and suitably distracted, she motions with a hand for Finn and Poe to leave. As fun as this is with an audience, she doesn’t want to share everything she and Ben will do to each other. An instinct she didn’t know she possessed, as it certainly never happened with Finn, compels her to protect the mating process with her Alpha from outside eyes.

“Fuck, I’ve always loved watching you suck cock, Rey,” Poe smirks as he steers his gaping mate behind Ben and towards the door. Rey frowns at Poe as he leaves only to have her distraction rewarded with a rough pump of Ben’s cock, causing her to gag.

“Oh, _yes_ , gag on my cock, baby,” her Alpha pants as his grip tightens in her hair. Rey sinks her nails into his hips for purchase as he increases the pace of his thrusts. He’s enjoying this a little too much.

She feels more than hears the playful slap that lands on Ben’s exposed buttocks. “Get it, Alpha,” Poe cheers as he and Finn exit her apartment, the door clicking softly behind as they lock it with their key. Ben’s cock twitches in her mouth as his breath hitches at the contact from Poe’s hand. _Interesting_ , she thinks. She files that reaction away for future consideration. Her eyes fly open to see the embarrassed flush creep up Ben’s neck and face, but she just winks slyly and continues to swallow his delicious cock. Her Alpha loses himself to her ministrations and soon his pace turns erratic as the base of his cock begins to swell. Rey starts to panic, pulling against Ben’s hands holding her in place, because there’s no way she’s taking his knot down her throat.

“Don’t worry, Rey, I won’t knot you now,” he murmurs lowly.

“But you will swallow every drop of cum I spill down your throat,” he commands.

Rey moans around his cock as it swells between her lips. Ben’s hips stutter, and he plunges his cock forward until his knot touches her lips, before pumping his cum directly down her throat with a guttural groan. He’s pulling too tightly on her hair, but there’s nothing Rey can do but stay still and take it. She’s mostly disappointed that she can’t taste his seed as she swallows reflexively around his cock head. She whines petulantly when he pulls his softening cock from her swollen lips, a string of saliva mixed with his cum stretching with his exit before it snaps. Her tongue snakes out to lap it up greedily, enjoying the brief taste of salty Alpha cum in her mouth. Instantly she craves more, and she lunges at his cock to lap at the tip, her hand coming up to squeeze his knot, milking a few more drops of his seed from his length. Ben hisses and jerks, but he doesn’t stop his Omega from satisfying her craving for his taste.

“Mmmm, so good, my Alpha,” Rey says with a sultry smack of her lips, grinning up at her satisfied mate. His posture straightens, and his chest expands as he preens with her praise. She bites her lip to suppress a giggle. It quickly turns into a groan of pain instead as another cramp seizes her body. Her Alpha is sated momentarily, but she is not, no matter how arousing she found sucking him off to be.

Ben mutters a curse under his breath before scooping Rey up into his arms. “I’m sorry, sweetheart, I shouldn’t have lost control like that,” he said, the guilt lacing every syllable leaving his mouth. He darts his head around her apartment, clearly seeking out her bedroom. She waves her hand in the direction of her room, but Ben, in his haste, walks into the guest bathroom instead. Muttering another string of curses under his breath, again, he finally enters the correct door to her bedroom. His long legs chew up the distance to her bed, where he gently lowers her onto her comforter. He hovers over her, supporting his body on all fours above her. But a quick glance down at his naked lower half shows he’s gone fully soft now and she frowns in disappointment. Her gaze snaps back to his when she hears him chuckling above her.

“Don’t worry, Omega, my cock will be ready to service you soon enough,” he says with a wiggle of his eyebrows. Rey fights the urge to roll her eyes. “I should punish you right now, for leaving me with my mother and running home to that _traitor Beta_.” At that, Rey does roll her eyes, her face flushing with anger and not just arousal. She opens her mouth, a retort on the tip of her tongue, but Ben pushes her chin up with the palm of his hand, one finger coming to a rest on her lips.

“Suck,” he demands softly, eyes shining with heat. “I won’t ask twice.”

Rey wants to refuse him. She wants to clench her jaw, cross her arms and legs and be defiant. But her heat is blazing through her body and she needs her Alpha to fuck her senseless, and so she must submit to his whims. She parts her lips just wide enough for the tip of his finger to dip into her mouth. Her traitorous tongue starts laving at the tip before her brain can catch up. With a satisfied grunt, Ben slowly pushes the entire length of his finger into her mouth and she closes her lips and begins to suck as her tongue continues to lap at his skin. She forces herself to keep her eyes open and locked with his as he begins to pump his finger in and out of her mouth. He quickly adds a second finger.

“Good girl, good Omega,” he whispers. Rey shivers at the effect his praise has on her body. Oh, gods, he needs to start fucking her or she’s going to spontaneously combust into flames.

Sensing her distress, Ben lowers himself kneel over her body and snakes his other hand down the front of her shorts. He hums low in his chest when he realizes she’s not wearing underwear, and that she is soaking wet.

“ _Fuck_ , baby, you fucking loved sucking my cock, didn’t you?” Rey nods around the fingers working into her mouth, eyes wide. He suddenly yanks both hands away from her, sliding off the bed and turning to pull her shorts off. Ben tucks his hands behind her knees and yanks her down to the edge of the bed.

“Scream my name when you come for me, Omega,” he commands before his mouth latches onto her and his tongue licks from her dripping opening to the top of her slit. Rey’s body reacts like she just touched a live wire, writhing in pleasure as she mewls for her Alpha. He thrusts two fingers into her core, her inner walls fluttering around them immediately as his tongue circles her clit. Rey’s back arches sharply as her legs twitch around Ben’s head. He’s sucking her bud into his mouth and she can’t stop her hips from bucking into his mouth. Her hands fly down to grab onto his luscious hair and she yanks, hard, as she grinds into his face.

Ben responds by pulling his fingers out, taking both hands and circling them up to her hips from under her legs and he pushes down, pinning her hips into the bed. She can’t wiggle away from the overwhelmingly intense sensations he’s wringing from her.

“ _Alpha_ , please, I can’t take it, it’s too much,” she whimpers, her face scrunched up in pleasure that borders on pain.

He pauses a moment to look up at the beauty of his work. Rey lays before him, spread open and dripping with need for him. He smirks.

“I don’t care, Rey. You’ll take whatever I give you,” he orders, taking one of his hands to thrust two fingers back into her pussy, rubbing against that spongy spot he knows will drive her wild. “And you’ll like it.” His mouth returns to sucking her clit as she keens. She might have to move after this heat is done, because she can’t control the volume at which her moans are climbing.

“Yes, Omega, sing for me,” he murmurs into her sensitive folds and the added vibration shoves her over the edge and she screams as she falls off the cliff into her orgasm.

“Ben, Ben, Ben,” she chants, over and over as her walls spasm around his fingers. He doesn’t slow the intensity of his sucking on her oversensitive bud and her orgasm seems to stretch into forever. She’s a sobbing, sweaty mess by the time the sweet intensity finally leaves her body. Ben pulls his dripping wet fingers from her core and sucks on them, eyes rolling back as he enjoys the taste of his Omega’s offering.

He climbs up the bed and lowers himself over her shivering body, his lips covering hers in a heated kiss. She can feel his erection throbbing into her thigh, smearing pre-come into her skin as he lazily rocks it into her leg. His tongue darts out to lick her bottom lip and she eagerly parts her lips to deepen the kiss. She can taste herself on his tongue and it drives her wild with want. Rey wraps her legs around his waist and starts to grind her wet center into him, frantic for friction to ease the ache already building again. He hasn’t cum inside her yet and she burns for it.

“I need you, need your cum inside me, please” she begs shamelessly.

“Hmmm, I bet you do, little one, but not just yet. I want to taste your tits first,” he says with a smack of his lips. He tugs her legs off his waist and sits up, yanking his own shirt over his head in the process. “Shirt off. Now.” Rey scrambles to comply with his command, yanking the tank top over and off her head.

“Don’t move,” he grunts out hoarsely. He’s pumping his shaft with one of his hands as he stares open-mouthed at her bare body.

“So fucking beautiful, can’t believe you’re all mine.” He shifts to sit with his back against her padded headboard, another of the few luxuries Rey has. She firmly believes in a good bed making all the difference in having a good night’s sleep. Or a good fuck. Really, mattress companies should use that in more of their advertising. Proper support is always important, no matter the activity. Ben motions for Rey to join him, picking her up by her hips in a cunt clenching display of his physical strength. He settles her onto his lap, her thighs parting to straddle his wide hips. The tip of his cock prods at her hot entrance and she tries to push herself down onto him, but his grip on her hips halts her progress.

“Don’t be naughty or I won’t let you come on my cock,” he teases. Rey pouts in response. Then Ben leans forward and licks at one of her dusky pink nipples before blowing softly at the wetness he left behind. Her nipples pebble in response and she gasps softly as he leans forward and swallows one breast with his mouth, his tongue working her nipple inside his hot mouth. Rey arches into him to give him better access. She knows her breasts are on the small side but seeing how much of her he can fit into his mouth sends a flood of heat to her core. Ben takes his time, savoring the little noises Rey makes as he suckles at her nipples, making sure to give each breast equal attention. Soon Rey is squirming, actively fighting against his hold on her hips so she can impale herself on the weeping cock throbbing at her entrance.

Ben releases her breast with an obscene wet popping sound. “What did I tell you about being naughty, little Omega?”

Rey whimpers, her thighs trembling with the effort to pull her body down.

“Do you want this?” he asks, rocking his cock up until he pushes into her just an inch.

“Please,” Rey begs. Ben makes a tsking sound as he thrusts his length in and out of her pussy, her slick dripping down to coat his length, but he stops from pushing in any deeper.

“Please, _Alpha_ ,” Rey pleads. Tears leak from her eyes in frustration.

“I want to hear how desperate you are for my cock,” he growls, his brow furrowed in concentration as he fights his instincts to bury himself inside her quivering cunt. Rey wails and pants in desperation.

“It hurts, Ben, please, oh please, will you fuck me and make it feel better,” she babbles between sobs.

“You can do better than that,” he grits out between pants. She could swear a ‘please’ hangs unsaid between them. She grabs his face with both hands as her needy eyes blaze into his.

“I need you to fuck me so hard I forget my own name,” she moans. “And then I need you to make me your bitch and knot me and fill me with your cum.” Rey’s face turns fifty shades of red at the desperate plea in her voice as she says the filthy words out loud. She means every single thing she says, and she sees the moment Ben’s pupils bleed into his irises as that realization hits him too.

Ben snaps, his expression turning fierce as any semblance of human male leaves his eyes until there is nothing left but pure, unadulterated Alpha. He snarls, teeth bared as he flips them over. Rey yelps as he roughly turns her over onto her stomach, but he doesn’t raise her hips up as she expected. Instead he straddles her small body with his much larger, much hotter body and merely shifts her hips back slightly as he enters her forcefully, knocking the air from her body. He immediately sets a brutal pace, his hips slapping into hers with so much force she’s sure to be covered in bruises by morning. Ben leans forward to cover her back with his chest and he presses her body into the mattress. Rey is pinned into the mattress, the only movement allowed is the rocking of her body as she absorbs the impact of each of his thrusts.

The Alpha fucking into her isn’t moaning or panting, he’s grunting and snarling. And Rey loves every fucking thing about it. She’s never been taken like this before, but her body revels in it. There’s no pain, only intense, mind melting pleasure as she submits, mind, body and soul to the Alpha controlling her body right now. This is what it means to be mated and Rey knows she’s ruined for anyone else now. She can never have sex with anyone other than Ben. He’s making his mark inside her body and she comes harder than she ever has in her life, her hot walls fluttering and clamping down on the hot cock piercing her over and over again. Ben roars an animal cry from deep in his chest as he fucks her relentlessly through her orgasm, drawing it out until it’s painful and Rey’s sobbing and begging for him to stop.

“Take it,” he screams. “This is what it means to be Omega.” Her brain melts into mush and her vision whites out as his words send her crashing into another orgasm on the heels of her last one. It’s too much, too soon and Rey screams, thrashing under the hot, heavy body above her.

Ben pulls out of her, flipping her onto her back and spreading her thighs wide with his hands, his fingernails digging painfully into her yielding flesh. The feral expression on his face arrests her. She can’t move, can’t make a sound as she’s trapped by the gaze of an Alpha who has fully abandoned his human side. A shiver runs through her body as he pauses for a moment, seemingly at war within himself and she sees it in his eyes, that her Ben is fighting to break through the Alpha haze.

“ _Alpha_ ,” Rey whispers tremulously. Ben blinks and the moment passes. With a growl he grips her hips tight and yanks her up his kneeling form and back onto his cock. From this angle, he sinks into her fully, his swollen knot slipping into her. Her hips are elevated as he rises up on his knees, spreading them out to better support their movement. Her head and shoulders slip and slide on the mattress as he yanks her onto his cock so hard her teeth clack. He’s gritting his teeth, lips pulled back in a fierce snarl that should frighten her, but it only strokes the fire within. Again, and again, his muscles tense as he uses his arms to use Rey’s body like a fuck toy. Each stroke into her seems to reach a new spot deeper and deeper into her body. It’s almost painful now as his ever-expanding knot continues to push in and out of her entrance. Knots are truly only meant to enter once, but somehow Ben is actually fucking her _with_ his knot. She lets out a hoarse cry that ends in a pitiful whimper as Ben continues to work his knot in and out of her spasming core. He’s not going to stop until she gives in fully and so Rey forces herself to go limp in an mistakable sign of surrender to her mate.

“ _Yes_ ,” Ben hisses and it doesn’t sound like her Ben anymore. Rey closes her eyes and her mouth goes slack as the heat builds in her lower belly again.

“Look at your Alpha when you come for him,” Ben demands. Her eyelids flutter open and she stares up at him with glazed, unseeing eyes.

“Take it, take it, take all of me,” he chants as his hips stutter and his cock swells within her. With one last guttural cry, he rises fully onto his knees as he yanks Rey onto his cock and buries his knot deep within her body before collapsing on top of her as his muscles give out. She’s almost thankful she didn’t reach her last orgasm, because she knows it would have been painful. She raises her shaky legs to wrap them around Ben’s waist, tilting her pelvis so his hot cum slides even deeper into her thirsty body.

Once she’s sure he’s done filling her with his seed she taps his shoulders and grunts into his ear, “Ben, you need to get off of me, I can barely breathe.” At first, she thinks he’s passed out. He doesn’t respond to her repeated taps, his breathing deep and even. Just as the panic within her begins to crest—he’s twice her size and crushing her lungs, after all—he rolls to his side, pulling her to him so they are resting chest to chest, his breath rustling her hair on each exhale. His body is quivering in muscle fatigue and he’s barely able to hold himself up on his side. Rey gently pushes her Alpha onto his back and carefully maneuvers herself to sprawl on top of him until his knot releases.

Rey dozes off for a while before an insistent knocking pulls her from sleep. She raises her head, wiping the drool from the corner of her mouth and looks around confused. “Whoever that is, I’m going to kill them,” Ben mutters grumpily beneath her. They must not have slept long because his knot is still a hard, pulsing plug inside her.

“I think it’s the Chinese food I ordered before you got here,” she says. Ben’s eyes slit open.

“I fucking love Chinese food,” he proclaims.

Rey smirks down at him. “Good, because you’re paying. I had to order half the menu to ensure you would have enough to eat.” Ben glances from side to side, taking in their surroundings. He spreads his arms wide to each side and fists the comforter, pulling it around to cover them.

“What are you doing?” Rey asks, giggling as he sits up, her legs wrapping around his waist.

“I’m going to get my Chinese food,” he states, like it should be the most obvious thing in the world.

“Ben!” she exclaims as he stands up and she is forced to hold tight with her arms and legs. He settles the comforter around her shoulders.

“Don’t worry, they won’t see anything. I’ve got you covered,” he laughs. He starts walking out of her bedroom and back through the living room. Rey buries her face in his shoulder.

“Unbelievable,” she mutters as she hears the door open, but deep down, her Omega instincts sing with the knowledge that she’s taking good care of her Alpha.

But she’s going to have to find a new Chinese place to order from now, and that’s just a pain in the ass.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey feels, Ben sings, and a wild Porg appears, but not how you think.

Rey tries to stifle a yawn with one hand, while absentmindedly rubbing her full belly. Here’s the ugly truth about heats and ruts that no one likes to talk about: no sooner than you satisfy one overwhelming biological need, another demands attention. Heats and ruts are notoriously exhausting, but it’s not all just from the seemingly endless sex. Increased body temperatures require more hydration, and sustenance, obviously. Have a full belly from eating? You’re going to be so sleepy you will pass out. But wait, at least one partner is ready to go another round. Scratch that; not ready, but desperate. So, you ease their ache, but now you’re parched, so you guzzle an entire bottle of Gatorade. Now you have to pee. Every fifteen minutes. Insomnia becomes a forgone conclusion. It all coalesces into an endless cycle of hunger, dehydration and exhaustion.

But going through a heat with an Alpha makes it all worth it.

They somehow managed to make a decent dent into the buffet of Chinese food crowding the coffee table, while still knotted together. There’s no time for polite pleasantries when the clock is counting down on coherent thought. As they try—for the third time—to recreate the famous spaghetti scene from Lady and the Tramp with lo mein noodles, Ben’s knot slips free. His cum spills out as well, all over his lap and Rey’s much beloved second-hand couch.

“Guess I need a shower,” he deadpanned.

“I’ll join you,” she said with a waggle of her eyebrows. Ben chuckles before capturing her lips in a quick kiss.

“No, you stay here and keep eating. I’ve never seen anyone eat more than me before,” he marvels. He lifts her off his lap and places her out of range of the wet spot and drapes the comforter over her shoulders. “Besides, you smell like me now and I’m not ready for you to wash me away just yet.” He gives her a wink. And did he just point finger guns at her as he shuffled backwards into her bedroom? Rey rolled her eyes and laughed as she dug into the sesame chicken.

That was all fifteen minutes ago and Rey is having a hard time staying awake now that she’s put the leftovers away and cleaned. What could possibly be taking him so long in the shower? Rey drags herself off the couch, leaving the comforter behind, because she’s already starting to feel hot again. Which is odd, because it’s only been an hour since he last knotted her, where she made it almost two hours before.

She raps on the door to her bathroom, but Ben doesn’t answer. He’s too busy pretending he’s a contestant on American Idol in her shower. Shaking her head, she pushes the door open only to be greeted by a wall of steam.

“What are you doing in here?”

“This shower head is fucking fantastic! Look, I can stand under it without it hitting my head,” he beams, with a smile that could win a Nobel Peace Prize, his eyes dancing under the bright bathroom light. “I can’t believe I don’t have one of these!”

Rey grins back at him, not just because his cheer is contagious—but because her tall, dark and dangerous Alpha looks like a drowned cat under the water. Without the fluff of his hair to hide his ears, they jut out from his head almost comically. It’s more than a little endearing and Rey’s heart flutters with emotion she can’t quite place.

“You need better hair products, though.”

She raises an eyebrow at him. “So, you’re an expert on hair now?”

“You have dry hair and split ends. I don’t,” he says with a shrug. He’s being serious. Rey frowns.

“Fuck you,” she huffs as she stomps out of the bathroom. Rey just barely refrains from yelling a retort about Finn being smart enough not to insult her product choices or hair. But only just.

“Looking forward to it!”

And then he goes back to singing in her shower.

 _Kriffing Alphas_ , she thinks as she throws herself down onto her bed, swinging an arm up to cover her eyes with a groan.

For a man his size, Ben can move soundlessly when he wants to, so she doesn’t realize he’s standing over her until water starts dripping onto her flushed skin. She opens one eye to peer up at her idiot Alpha. He’s staring back down at her with hungry eyes, and a quick glance down reveals his erection jutting out from his body like the world’s best carnival ride.

“I know what you need, little one,” he says, his deep voice a caress over every erogenous zone ever created. Heat pools between her thighs.

“And what do I need?” she asks with a breathy sigh. The tops of her thighs are already dripping with her slick.

He straddles her prone form on the bed, water dripping from his hair. It’s obvious he didn’t stop to use a towel, but she’s willing to overlook it as long as he keeps looking at her like he’s starving and she’s an all-you-can-eat buffet.

“You need my cock inside you, so you can sing for me,” he murmurs as he bends his head down to nuzzle into her neck, his tongue licking gently over her throbbing scent gland. At the same time, he snakes a hand down to her soaked folds, swirling one thick finger teasingly at her entrance before sliding up her slit to gently circle her clit in a mimicry of what his tongue is doing to her neck. It’s a delicate assault on her senses that short circuits all rational thought as her body melts with pleasure.

The Omega sings for her Alpha.

She sings a song only he can write as he moves inside her, each thrust slow and deliberate. His silky hard cock maps her aching core, every veiny ridge stroking her walls in sweet sensation as he drives himself into her over and over again. This isn’t the frantic coupling from the Heat Tent, or the animalistic dominance of their rutting after his fight with Finn and Poe. He’s making love to her as he gazes reverently into her hazel eyes.

The emotional intensity in his gaze is almost too much for Rey but she won’t allow herself to break eye contact. She’s never had anyone look at her the way Ben’s doing right now, and she feels her eyes prick with tears. Her heart seems to clench in time with her cunt. How he’s able to hold himself back as her walls flutter around his cock, she doesn’t know, but she’s grateful that he lets her climax wash over her without trying to extend it. She digs her heels into his back as her legs lock around his waist and her back arches off the bed; he stills above her until she melts back into the bed.

“You’re beautiful,” he pants as he resumes rocking into her body. Rey hiccups in response as the tears flow freely from her eyes.

“My beautiful little Omega,” he croons. He lowers his body over hers and buries his head into her neck, inhaling deeply. Rey tilts her head to the side and offers him her neck. She feels the vibration in his chest as he growls at her submission and then his hot mouth is sucking at her scent gland. She hisses as the sensation washes over her body. “Don’t stop, Alpha,” she whispers hoarsely. If he keeps this up, she’s going to come again.

He sucks and fucks her into another orgasm before burying his knot in her body and pumping her full of his cum. He chants her name like a prayer as his cock throbs inside her, his lips brushing against her ear. Ben rolls them over until Rey is resting on his chest and he holds her quietly, one hand tracing soothing circles across her back. The sound of his heart beating in his chest lulls her into a deep sleep.

\------------------------------------------------------------------

Rey awakens to the unmistakable aroma of bacon. She’s tangled up in her sheets, but Ben’s side of the bed is empty. Because he’s making delicious bacon. She belts her old bathrobe around her, thankfully, cool body and putters through the apartment to the kitchen. The clock on her microwave telling her it’s 3:30 am.

It’s still dark outside. And there’s a very naked man standing at her stove.

“Why are you cooking breakfast at 3:30 am?” As if on cue, her stomach gurgles with hunger.

“That’s why, sweetheart,” he laughs, pointing the spatula at her general midsection. “And it’s not breakfast, just bacon. Because I fucking love bacon.”

“But I didn’t have any bacon in my fridge,” she says quizzically.

“Has your heat fried your brain? I’m cooking bacon in your kitchen because I found bacon in your fridge,” he smirks, turning his back to her frown and resuming his place in front of the frying pan.

“First of all, my confusion has nothing to do with my biology. Second, I didn’t buy any bacon. Finn and Poe must have brought it with them earlier,” she fumes. Ben visibly tenses at the mention of her friends, but he finishes cooking in silence. She joins him in her living room, where he’s set up two glasses of water. He sets the plate with a heaping pile of freshly cooked bacon in the center and gestures for Rey to dig in while he drains his glass.

“I ate the first package of bacon already,” he says waves away the bacon she offers from the plate. She munches on it with a shrug. Rey also loves bacon. It’s basically the candy of the meat world. “I didn’t want to wake you, you looked so peaceful.”

“Thank you,” she replies with a tight smile. They settle into a tense silence as Rey quickly eats her way through the plate of bacon.

Despite the instant intimacy their current situation dictates, she feels distant from the man crowding her space on the sofa next to her. And confused, so confused. Maybe this is what it’s like with Alphas, but Rey has emotional and sexual whiplash. In the span of a few short hours, she runs into the only man she’s ever loved, but hasn’t seen in 10 years, proceeds to have wild and reckless sex with him after a mere five minutes in each other’s presence; then he’s showing up at her door like, well, an Alpha, and proceeds to manhandle two of her closest friends and then fucks her harder than she’s ever been, in a way that she’s not entirely certain she cares to repeat. And then he makes love to her. He’s all over the place and she’s not sure how much of this is biology or something else, and she’s not sure which one is scarier. She’s still not entirely sure where he stands with TFO, and that’s a major deal breaker for her.

Rey shakes her head in dismay when she realizes she’s already emotionally attached and planning a future with Ben. If she’s honest, she’s been secretly doing this for 10 years, but his physical presence looms larger than her imagination and she’s afraid she’s about to have her heart broken all over again. This is too much, too fast. She doesn’t realize how fast she’s breathing until she feels Ben gently turn her head to face him, his expression unreadable.

“What’s going on in that head of yours?”

“I—I… I’m afraid,” she whispers. Her lower lip trembles as hot tears burn down her face.

“Don’t be afraid, I feel it too,” he replies softly. She watches, wide eyed, as he leans in to nuzzle against her cheek with his cheek. He’s comforting her, and once again it overwhelms her. She can’t reconcile his current behavior with what he did to her friends, and her, yesterday. It doesn’t seem to add up with an Alpha who sides with TFO and their disgusting views on Omegas.

He’s acting like he genuinely cares, that this isn’t just about hormones and pheromones and biology.

He’s acting like she’s already his mate. She remembers the heated promise he made to claim her when they were still in the Heat Tent. That he’s never knotted anyone but her, because he’s only ever wanted her.

Rey’s instinct regarding emotion is to not emotion. She doesn’t take the time to feel. She focuses on her goals and her cause and waits for a future that exists only in her head. Auto-pilot is safe and secure as she ticks off the days that pass. Her finish line hasn’t been set yet and she’s been ok with that ever since she locked her heart away 10 years ago.

“I don’t understand you,” she chokes out, a sob threatening to break from her chest. Ben pulls her into his warmth and snuggles them down into the couch, with Rey lodged between the couch and Ben’s chest.

“Not the first time I’ve heard that,” he replies, his voice strained with emotion. She lifts her head to look up at his face. He’s looking down at her with those beautiful brown eyes that give away his every thought and feeling.

“It’s just…we haven’t seen each other in 10 years. And suddenly we’re locked in this intimate situation with each other, and you’ve been so all over the place with the sex and the emotions and…” Her voice trails off when she sees his eyes harden and his lips pull tight. He turns his gaze to her ceiling and she feels cold despite the body heat.

“Did I hurt you?” It’s barely a whisper.

“Well…not exactly,” she stammers. She’s mentally kicking herself for starting down this path. They should just stick to sex. Sex is always better without emotion. She ignores the voice in the back of her mind screaming _liar, liar pants on fire_.

Ben shifts abruptly, sitting up and bringing Rey with him. Tension rolls off him in dark waves that turn her heart to ice in her chest. He works his jaw before speaking again.

“What did I do,” he states. Somehow, it’s not a question, the way it comes out of his mouth.

_SootheyourAlphapleaseyourAlpha_

“Ben, we don’t need to do this right now.”

“No. Tell me what I did,” he gulps. “Please.”

_SootheyourAlphapleaseyourAlpha_

Rey refuses to let her hormones get the better of her now. She takes a deep breath, willing away the heat pooling in her abdomen and ignoring the pull to put Ben’s dick in her mouth. Hey, it worked the first time. But this war between emotion and biology is tearing her apart.

“You were… a bit f-forceful with me. After the fight with Finn and Poe,” she begins. His face screws up as if in pain. “You didn’t hurt me, physically,” she rushes to placate him. “Well, not really. But you weren’t yourself, Ben. At least, not the Ben I used to know. It was too much.”

“The Ben you knew is dead,” he mutters. The self-loathing lacing his voice sends shivers down her spine.

“That’s not true,” she replies. There’s an explosion of movement as Ben hurls himself off the couch to pace the length of her living room. It’s only three strides for him in each direction.

“You have no idea, Rey. Don’t speak of things you know nothing about,” he snaps.

_SootheyourAlphasootheyourAlphasootheyourAlpha ___

__

__Her cunt clenches, sending a rush of her slick down her thighs. She growls in frustration at her traitorous body. They need more time. The moment the unmistakable scent of her arousal reaches Ben he freezes. He turns slowly, nostrils flaring and eyes darkening. There’s no mistaking the heat in his gaze._ _

__

__“Rey,” he growls. And she knows what this means. He’s back into dominate Alpha mode and he’s not going to be gentle this time. Her body rejoices as her heart and head cringe._ _

__

__“No,” she growls back._ _

__

__“What?” He hisses, emphasizing the t sound._ _

__

__“You heard me. I said no,” she orders._ _

__

__“Your cunt says otherwise,” he insists lowly, stalking closer to her like he’s the hunter and she his tasty prey._ _

__

__“Don’t do this, Ben. Please don’t go this way,” she pleas, moving behind the couch to put some much-needed distance between her and the hangry—horny angry; it’s something she and Finn like to joke about when Poe’s in a mood—Alpha._ _

__

__Something about what she has said seems to snap him out of the hormones fogging his brain. He stumbles back from her until his back hits the wall and he slides down into a crouching position, gaze locked on her._ _

__

__“I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me,” he stutters._ _

__

__“Ben, we can’t have sex again until we talk about this,” she explains without moving from her spot behind the couch. She’s not entirely sure she can trust his reaction. For once again his emotions turn on a dime and Rey’s still catching her breathe._ _

__

__“I know,” he responds quickly, nodding his head emphatically. Rey sighs with relief before doubling over in pain as a cramp ripples across her abdomen._ _

__

__“We don’t have much time,” she pants._ _

__

__“Just tell me what you want me to do and I’ll do it. Nothing more,” he trembles. Rey glances his way to see the worry written on his face. He’s fighting his Alpha instincts to comfort her right now._ _

__

___SootheyourAlpha ____ _

___ _

___“Just listen to me when we’re together. What you did after the guys left was… I don’t know. It was amazing and uncomfortable and overwhelming at the same time. You were so demanding and dominant in a way you weren’t in the Heat Tent.”_ _ _

___ _

___The expression on his face is definitely one of confusion now._ _ _

___ _

___“But you told me to make you my b-bitch. Don’t you know what that means to an Alpha? To an Alpha in rut?”_ _ _

___ _

___“No,” she responds with a shake of her head. She remembers saying the words, but the reason she did is fuzzy. Ben had been goading her on, but he had been just as surprised by her words as she was. Is it an Omega thing that only happens with Alphas?_ _ _

___ _

___“It’s an Omega command.”_ _ _

___ _

___Now it’s her turn to look confused. “But I thought only Alphas can give commands?”_ _ _

___ _

___“For the most part, yes, but during a heat-rut an Omega can give commands to an Alpha, especially one that’s part Alpha as well.”_ _ _

___ _

___“Really?” She asks with a smirk. This feels like she’s discovered a hidden superpower within herself._ _ _

___ _

___“Really,” he responds with his own smirk. “Does my Omega like that?”_ _ _

___ _

___“She does. Very much. But,” she starts, breaking off for another cramp. She’s dripping onto the living room carpet. She’s definitely going to have to move after this._ _ _

___ _

___“But?”_ _ _

___ _

___“But we should hold off on commands until this situation is under control. My head is too fuzzy right now. I promise not to command you to make me your… you-know-what.” Ben quirks an eyebrow at her, his eyes dancing with suppressed laughter. “If you promise not to lose yourself like that again.”_ _ _

___ _

___“Promise,” he rushes. He rises back to his full height, eager to close the distance between them and ease the ache in her core. She’s just as eager for it, but there’s one more thing they need to take care of first._ _ _

___ _

___“We also need a safe word,” she states firmly. Her friends use a safe word, she remembers discussing it with Finn._ _ _

___ _

___“Ok,” he purrs as he picks her up and carries her back to her bed._ _ _

___ _

___“I want you to pick it, to make sure it will get your attention.”_ _ _

___ _

___“You think I won’t need to use the safe word on you?”_ _ _

___ _

___Rey snorts. “Maybe, but I want it to be something you decide.”_ _ _

___ _

___Ben lays her down on the bed but remains standing above her as Rey unties her robe and lets it fall open, exposing her flushed and naked body. He hums to himself as he ruminates over his choices. Suddenly his face lights up, and she notices just how young he looks when he’s relaxed and smiling._ _ _

___ _

___“PORG!” he shouts excitedly, a finger stabbing the air in triumph._ _ _

___ _

___“Porg?” She asks slowly._ _ _

___ _

___“Don’t you remember the stuffed penguin my Dad won for me at that carnival.”_ _ _

___ _

___Rey thinks a moment before nodding. Yeah, she remembers it all right. It was a cheap stuffed animal, it’s features all out of proportion; the eyes too big, the mouth turned down in a frown. She used to tease Ben that he’s basically the human version of his favorite stuffed animal. She had forgotten the name until this moment._ _ _

___ _

___“Oh, yeah! Porg the Penguin,” she giggles up at him. “You really want to bring your childhood stuffed animal into our sex life?” Now she’s belly laughing as he pretends to be offended._ _ _

___ _

___“I can’t think of anything better to break the mood,” he says with an exaggerated shrug._ _ _

___ _

___“Ok. Porg is the word,” she mumbles as her Alpha crawls up her body._ _ _

___ _

___“I trust you to use it when you need it. Don’t think you need to just take it because I’m your Alpha,” he murmurs, his mood turned serious again. She nods at him solemnly._ _ _

___ _

___“And I trust you to listen to me,” she whispers._ _ _

___ _

___The time for words comes to an end and they let their bodies do the talking instead._ _ _


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First of all, THANK YOU for the wonderful response to this fic. I *never* expected this many people to read, let alone like, my little story. It was only supposed to be a fun little one-shot I wrote when dealing with writer's block on my other story. If you are reading my other story, Black Beauty, I PROMISE I will be updating soon. I haven't forgotten or abandoned it!
> 
> I am not a biology major nor a doctor, so, yeah. No smut in this chapter, sorry.
> 
> Responsible Rey visits the doctor and has a revelation.

Rey’s heat lasts an unprecedented—for her—5 days, not that she’s complaining. Despite the agony of the side effects of a heat, Rey spent most of that time blissed out in Ben’s arms. She didn’t know sex could be this transcendent. It sounds cheesy, even to her, but sex with Ben was carnal bliss and romantic heaven at the same time. Once they worked through the kinks of the first 24 hours, they settled into a comfortable rhythm. As it turns out, Ben is an attentive, patient, and caring Alpha. Rey has never been pampered and looked after like she was with her Alpha for those 5 days. He kept her fed, sated, and bathed without her ever lifting a finger. Normally, Rey would fuss about being able to care for herself, but her Omega side reveled in the care of such a virile Alpha.

Of course, they agreed to circumvent any deep discussions of their past, present or future. They kept talk light, and Rey was surprised at how much laughter they shared. Her face hurt from all the laughing almost as much as her pussy did from all the rutting. She’s still not complaining.

Rey’s first act of hormonal sobriety is to schedule an emergency doctor’s appointment with the resident gynecologist at work. She sighs with relief at having easy access to quality and affordable health care. Leia is a firm believer that quality healthcare and education are the keys to progress on the consent rights front. Power to the people and the more you know, after all. Rey knows firsthand how difficult it can be for people of limited means, such as foster kids growing up in less than caring homes, to access information and care, especially for reproductive health. And the school systems are shockingly archaic in their approach to any kind of health education.

It is critical for all Omegas to be under medical care once they present. Suppressants and birth control are of the utmost priority if an Omega wants to remain unclaimed and child free. Fortunately, Leia has seen the most success on the child free front. Omegas are firmly in control of their bodies when it comes to preventing an unwanted pregnancy. Unfortunately, even on suppressants, every Omega must have a heat cycle at least 4 times a year to keep her reproductive health intact. And this means that every unmarked Omega is in danger of being claimed against their will at least 4 times a year. Alphas can bite the scent gland of an Omega in heat, regardless of consent or not. Not to even mention whether the Omega wants to be mounted by the Alpha, because contrary to popular belief, an Omega in heat doesn’t always want to sleep with just any Alpha. Once claimed, no other Alpha will touch that Omega, but the Alpha is under no obligation to stay with the claimed Omega. While it is unusual for most of the Alpha population to have more than one claimed Omega—issues such as divorce do play a factor—there are some who believe they have every right to claim as many Omegas as they want. And the current laws protect this drive.

A claimed Omega’s mate choices become limited if the biting Alpha doesn’t mate them. Even the most evolved of Alpha’s hesitate to mate with a claimed Omega. And so, Omegas with a claiming bite must mate with Betas if no other Alpha will choose them. An act that takes less than a minute to complete can permanently affect an Omega for the rest of her life, and she has no power—political, lawful, or physical—to stop it except to be diligent in their suppressant routine and plan ahead for each heat cycle. It’s a heavy, and expensive, burden to bear. Rey has long since regarded her designation as Omega to be a curse.

Rey is startled from her musings when Dr. Kalonia gives a polite knock on the door before she breezes into the exam room, her perfume brightening the room with her presence.

“Rey, dear, it is so good to see you. Tell me, how can I help you today?”

Dr. Kalonia is the kind of doctor everyone dreams about, if people dreamed about the kind of doctor they wanted. Stranger things have happened. She’s warm and kind and an attentive listener. That she looks like a hip grandmother, with her salt and pepper hair cut into a trendy bob and an easy smile on her maternal face, helps solidify her approach-ability.

Rey gives her a cheery smile before diving into the topic at hand.

“I’ve just finished a breakthrough heat, but I am supposed to have my normal heat cycle start in about 3 days. I was wondering if it was possible to take an emergency suppressant to avoid that cycle,” Rey pauses here; she can feel her face start to flush with embarrassment before she continues. “Also, this heat cycle I was with a, um, Alpha—willingly! —and it lasted longer than usual for me. Is that normal?”

The doctor offers a warm smile, free of judgement.

“In answer to your first question, yes, I can give you an emergency suppressant shot that should delay your normal heat cycle until next quarter. I will warn you that this means your cycle may be a bit unpredictable, in that it may not happen according to your past schedule. I’ll give you a pack of ovulation testers to use in the last month before your next expected heat. That way you won’t be caught unawares,” Dr. Kalonia says with a grimace. Rey figures the doctor has had her share of patients on the short end of the consequences of an unpredictable cycle. It’s never pretty.

“Thank you so much,” Rey gushes. Thank the Maker she won’t have to worry.

“Your second question is a little more complicated to answer. Is this your first time with this particular Alpha?”

“Yes, well, it’s actually my first time with any Alpha.” Dr. Kalonia starts clicking away on her laptop, looking through Rey’s history.

“Ah, yes, I see. It looks like you have been paired with a Beta for past heat cycles. Is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“Ok, well that information certainly helps,” she says as she walks over to give Rey a quick once over, her hands immediately seeking out Rey’s scent gland. She hears the doctor sigh—with relief? — when she finds her gland unmarked. “He didn’t claim you.”

“No, not yet,” Rey says as feels herself blushing again. “He’s the love of my life but I never thought we would end up together.” She ends up blurting out the truth before she can stop herself. Dr. Kalonia certainly didn’t need that bit of information, but her warm presence always lulls Rey into a feeling of safety. The kind doctor chuckles at Rey’s admission.

“I can’t help you with the love part, but I can help you with your second question. As you know, heats and ruts are part of the biological imperative to procreate. The most effective way to sate a heat is by the insertion of Alpha sperm into the vaginal canal and cervix. Of course, Beta sperm can also ease heat symptoms, and you can still get pregnant from a Beta, though they tend not to be as fertile as Alphas. There is a protein specific to Alpha sperm that is specifically responsible for sating a heat. If this protein fails to encounter an egg in your uterus, it will send a signal that prolongs the heat in the hopes of successful insemination. It’s quite genius, actually,” Dr. Kalonia says with a grin. Rey simply shrugs her shoulders. It sounds more inconvenient than genius to her, but she’s not a doctor.

“So, it is not atypical for a heat to last longer with an Alpha, especially if it’s your first time with one. However, it’s not typical for them to last quite as long as yours, unless…” she lets her voice drift off thoughtfully as she studies the laptop in front of her. Rey leans forward with baited breath waiting for the doctor to continue, nearly losing her balance and falling off the exam table.

“Unless what?” Rey asks, unable to keep the impatience from her voice. Her heart is fluttering like a hummingbird in her chest. Whatever the doctor is about to tell her, is life changing, she can feel it.

“Well, it’s rare, so I’ll need to do more research to give you a more accurate answer. But it is possible that this particular Alpha is your reproductive soulmate. Your one true pairing, if you will,” Dr. Kalonia says with a flourish of her hands. Rey’s mouth gapes open.

“My what?”

“You and this Alpha are most biologically compatible with each other for producing a strong lineage. Biologically. At a cellular level, your body recognizes his body as a part of yourself. As I said before, I’ll need to do more research, as this is incredibly rare. I’ve never met an OTP couple before, or know of any colleagues who have, for that matter,” she says with a shrug of her shoulders.

The doctor continues to drone on about something, but Rey can’t hear through the roaring in her ears. It’s not that she’s shocked by what Dr. Kalonia has shared; to be honest, she’s shocked that she’s not more shocked. Deep down, in a place she’s never felt before, she knows that what the doctor said is the truth. She and Ben are biological soulmates.

 _Not just biological_ , her mind whispers gleefully.

“I remember reading in medical school that it’s even thought that an OTP is more than just biological. That somehow, the Maker destined this pairing for each other,” she says dreamily. Rey blinks owlishly at the older woman.

The 13-year-old in Rey is rejoicing—loudly—in her head, for this is a dream come true. A part of her has always known Ben belongs with her, and her doctor just confirmed it in the most oddly clinical way possible. But the 23-year-old Rey is a bit more… terrified. She hardly knows Ben anymore. They still haven’t discussed anything of significance. Rey doesn’t even know how he takes his coffee, or if he even drinks coffee. She doesn’t know where he lives, his favorite color—

“Rey!”

She is shaken from the war in her head by the worried shout of her doctor. Right. She’s still sitting naked, wearing a paper gown, in a chilly medical room with her doctor. “Sorry, doctor, what were you saying,” Rey answers weakly, wiping her sweaty palms onto her gown.

“The nurse will be in shortly to give you that suppressant shot and a pack of ovulation tests. I’ll email you with the results of my research by next week,” she says with a gentle, patient smile. “Look, I know this a lot to take in right now. I can give you the card of a trusted colleague of mine. She specializes in Omega-centered therapy. I’m sure she would be happy to talk with you.”

Rey nods mutely and lays down to allow the doctor to complete her exam when the nurse enters the room. The doctor also orders tests for several STIs, as a standard precaution whenever a patient presents with a new sexual partner. She’ll have to return in several weeks to complete the testing as it’s too soon for some of the diseases to be testable so soon after first contact. Rey’s confident Ben is clean, but thankful to her doctor nonetheless. Knowledge is power.

Fifteen minutes later and Rey is dressed, ovulation testers in one hand, the therapist’s card in another, as she heads out of the medbay and to the bank of elevators that will take her to the top floor. She’s a pro at compartmentalizing, and so she shoves the materials in her hands into her purse, takes a deep breath, and leaves everything about her medical visit on the first floor as the elevator lifts off. She’ll think about it when she’s back home. With wine. And chocolate.

The elevator dings to signal it has reached her office floor. She steps into the lobby of polished stone, warm, neutral cream and beige colors and tasteful art. The effect is one of understated elegance, much like their champion and general-at-arms. Rey still can’t believe she works on the top floor of a fancy corporate office. She still can’t believe she works directly for Leia Organa-Solo, literal royalty and tireless champion for Omega rights across all spectrums. Rey studied to be a nutritionist in college. Growing up poor, with little food to eat, she can appreciate the difference nutrition can make in a person’s health. Her late presentation is directly related to the near constant malnutrition of her early childhood. When she graduated college, she had planned to start a non-profit of her own, aimed at serving children in lower-income districts, but reality had other plans. While she was able to use multiple scholarships to pay for schooling, it wasn’t enough to cover all her educational needs. It certainly wasn’t enough to cover basic living expenses. As a result, Rey is drowning in student debt.

Leia approached Rey two weeks before her college graduation and offered her a job at Rebel Alliance as their nutritionist, for the group and as part of their Omega rights initiative. Nutrition is critical to Omega presentation and reproductive health. Rey gladly accepted, but on one condition: she wanted Leia’s help with starting her nutrition non-profit. Leia not only agreed, but she took it a step further and funded a nutrition initiative, the Juvenile Education and Health Alliance (JEDHA), in partnership with Rebel Alliance and named Rey it’s president and co-founder. She couldn’t stop crying for a week afterwards. For a child who came from nothing, and felt like nothing, she was going to help make a real difference in the world; a positive impact on the plight of Omegas and children.

Rey hummed to herself as she navigated the labyrinth of cubicles, nodding and smiling warmly as coworkers welcomed her back to work. She heaved a sigh of relief as the door to her office clicked shut behind her. But her relief was short lived when she realized none other than Leia herself was sitting in Rey’s chair, at Rey’s desk.

“Welcome back, Rey,” Leia said warmly, a twinkle in her dark eyes. She gestured to the chair on the other side of the desk, the chair reserved for guests in Rey’s office. “Have a seat, my dear.”

Rey shuffled quickly to the chair, clutching her purse across her stomach with both hands.

“I think it’s time we had a little chat about my son.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This a short, but heavy update. Please don't hate me. Check the notes at the end of this chapter before noping out of this story, pretty please.
> 
> Rey and Leia have a little chat about Leia's son. The pain train is here, fueled up and ready to choo-choo all over your Reylo feels.

Rey is sitting—more like cowering—in her seat, cursing herself for wearing the tight, black pencil skirt today, because no matter how she fidgets, she can’t seem to cross her legs, or get comfortable. She finally settles for slouching into the back of the chair and pulling her emerald green cardigan to wrap it protectively across her chest; the lingering instincts of her heat telling her to cover and hide from the Alpha sitting across from her.

“Did he claim you?” Leia asks, not unkindly, her sharp eyes pinned to the spot where Rey’s scent gland is hidden from view beneath the high neck of the white, sleeveless top she’s wearing. Too late Rey realizes that wearing a high neck shirt on the first day back to work, after a five-day heat, with an Alpha, makes her look suspicious. It’s not uncommon for claimed Omegas to hide their freshly bitten scent gland from the world, especially if the Alpha was vigorous in making his mark. Everyone at work knows exactly how the marathon ended for Rey, and her face burns crimson as she realizes what she’s just inadvertently—and incorrectly—advertised for all to see.

“No!” Rey exclaims, pulling at the neck of her top to display her unmarked gland to Leia. “He didn’t claim me, he was a perfect gentleman,” she murmurs demurely as her hands return to her lap to pick at her skirt.

“Good,” Leia breathes.

“Good.” She repeats firmly, nodding her head. Rey takes a moment to really look at her boss and she sees the exhaustion in the bags under her eyes. Usually every hair on Leia’s head is tucked in place in one of her famously elaborate, braided up-dos, but there are wispy tendrils coming loose and today’s braid looks like it was put together too quickly.

“Is everything alright?” Rey asks, leaning forward, her brow knitted in concern.

“Yes, dear, everything is alright,” she responds, but she’s staring off into the distance instead of looking at Rey, which isn’t typical for someone as direct as Leia. Something akin to fear zings through Rey’s belly, because she’s certain everything is not alright.

“How much did Ben tell you about his work with The First Order?”

“Nothing, really. He told me he’s helping you tear it down, but he didn’t go into detail.” Her face flushes again as her mind supplies images of just what they were doing instead of talking. His glistening chest above her as he thrust rhythmically into her; his long, thick fingers rubbing his come into her skin in soothing circles; her, sweaty and flushed beneath him, begging for him to knot her and fill her with his come. Rey coughs sharply to cover the little moan that nearly escaped her, squirming uncomfortably in her seat. It’s starting to feel warm in here.

“Rey, I’ve known you since you were 10 years old. I think of you as a daughter, I have for a long time now. Believe me when I tell you I would love nothing more than for you to be my daughter-in-law,” Leia says with a warm smile that doesn’t touch the sadness in her liquid brown eyes. “But I’m afraid I must tell you that isn’t possible. You can’t have a relationship with my son. I’m sorry.” Rey’s heart plummets into her stomach.

“I don’t understand,” she stammers, blinking rapidly to hold back the tears pricking her eyes as her boss, mentor and role-model pulls the rug out from under her most secret and precious dream.

“I’m so sorry, my dear, but I’m afraid this is out of our hands,” Leia answers, holding her hands palms up in a gesture of frustration. “I told Ben to talk to you after you ran away from the Heat Tent, but it’s understandable why he didn’t have the time.” She says it so matter-of-factually, like she’s merely discussing the unseasonably cool weather they’ve had this week, and not ripping Rey’s heart apart, one paper cut at a time.

“This is difficult, and uncomfortable, to explain, but your sex life and social life with my son is now officially my business, and that of Rebel Alliance,” Leia begins. “You see, Ben is deep under cover as a double agent in TFO, has been for two years now. I’m not sure how much you know about what happened to Ben after he left for boarding school—”

“Nothing. I know nothing,” Rey states flatly. She can’t bring herself to look directly into her boss’s eyes; she fears she will fall apart if she does. Somewhere in her periphery Leia nods.

“The details aren’t important right now, but something happened at the boarding school. His Uncle Luke, who runs the school, had Ben expelled. Bernard Snoke, the founder and head of TFO, took advantage of the opportunity and sunk his claws into my son. He financed Ben’s college education and lifestyle, nurturing the rage already present in my son. He encouraged my son to give into his animal instincts as he believes all Alphas are entitled to do,” Leia snarls, her mouth turned down in disgust.

Rey shivers in her chair as she recalls what Ben was like with her when he gave into his animal instincts, and she’s surprised to feel hurt—even jealous—that he would be that way with anyone else. He had told her he had never knotted anyone before… was that just pillow talk between two people during a heat-rut? She can’t imagine Ben would lie to her about something so intimately important, but he had also promised to claim her and now here’s his mother telling her that isn’t possible. And apparently Ben knew that before he ever whisked her away to the Heat Tent.

“Ben never thought to question Snoke or his ways, because he was too lost in his desire for revenge against his family, so he didn’t bat an eye when Snoke lured him into his political web. He made Ben the CFO and put an enormous amount of pressure on my boy to perform. I don’t know exactly what happened, but about two years ago, Ben called me. For the first time in years, I was hearing my baby boy’s voice in person,” Leia’s voice trails off wistfully, a shaky hand coming up to wipe away a rogue tear. Rey watches silently as her boss’s face slowly hardens, her eyes shiny with regret.

“Never let your child be the one to apologize first. It’s the parent’s responsibility,” Leia says, her voice fierce with emotion as she pounds her hands on Rey’s desk, her rings pinging dully on the wood surface. “It was my responsibility. Maybe if I had then all of this could have been avoided,” she finishes with a weary sigh.

“What could have been avoided?” Even to Rey, her voice sounds small in the wake of such a heavy confession. Leia sighs again and rubs her eyes before continuing.

“Ben has been collecting information, most of it financial—tax evasion, money laundering, that sort of thing—for several years. It’s enough evidence to shut them down, but Snoke will just start up a new group under a new name with a new group of investors. That man is a slippery devil, always able to pin the blame on an underling. My son reached out to me for help. But in a political war like this one, where the stakes are so high, help comes at a price.”

Rey gulps loudly, her mouth suddenly drier than the desert child services found her wandering in when she was only 4 years old, alone. It seems Rey is destined to wander alone in life, which was an easy fate to accept before Ben happened.

“What price?” She whispers hoarsely. There’s no mistaking the sorrow and pity, and even guilt, in Leia’s eyes when they meet Rey’s.

“My son is close to Snoke, almost like a son to him, but he doesn’t trust easily. He’s guarded. But we needed to secure Ben’s place in Snoke’s inner circle for this mission to work. To convince him that Ben is all in on the fight to keep Omegas under the thumb of Alphas.” Leia pauses for a moment. The older woman’s shoulders droop under the weight of what must be said.

“Snoke has a daughter, from one of the many Omegas the bastard has claimed over the years. Her name is Valerie, she’s a pure Omega. She has worked loyally at her father’s side for many years now,” Leia explains, pausing a moment to take a sip of tea that must be ice cold by now.

Rey feels ice cold. She’s almost numb at this point, because she sees where this is going now.

“Somehow, Ben discovered that Valerie has been working as a lone wolf to stop her father’s political plans. She can’t do it alone, but with Ben’s help and Rebel Alliance’s resources and network, it looks possible. And I want you to know that everyone involved went into this mission with eyes wide open, Rey.”

Rey nods but she doesn’t understand how this detail could possibly matter when her soul is breaking apart inside her.

“Ben and Valerie began a relationship, purely platonic, of course. And for a time, it worked. Ben was invited into Snoke’s home, to parties with key political figures. It gave him access to another side of Snoke’s world. But after about three months, the man became suspicious. He’s a pure Alpha, a clever and conniving one at that, and the scenting Ben and Valerie were doing to each other wasn’t enough. Somehow, that gargoyle of a man figured out that Ben and Valerie hadn’t… consummated their relationship.”

Rey shudders violently in her chair.

“Stop.”

“Rey, dear—”

“No, stop. I can’t listen to this anymore,” Rey whispers tremulously.

“You have to, Rey. I’m sorry,” Leia answers back, in a tone which brooks no argument. Rey drops her head as the hot tears spill from her eyes.

“Rey, I know how much you care for my son. I saw it when you were just a kid, and I saw it when you came out of the Heat Tent. And I know how much he cares for you, too. He’s always cared about you. There were only two things he wanted to discuss that day he called me two years ago: the idea he had for this mission, and you.” A sob erupts from somewhere deep in the chasm of her broken heart, tears dripping onto her skirt as her head bends down even more.

“It’s important that you know just how much he cares about you, because you’re a big part of the reason he’s doing this. He couldn’t bear to be a part of something that would subjugate Omegas like you to the whims of entitled Alphas.”

“He cares so much that he hasn’t reached out to me in 10 years and now you’re about to tell me he belongs to another Omega,” Rey spits.

“I told him not to contact you. When he called me that day two years ago, I told him to stay away from you. I knew the minute he contacted you the mission would be in jeopardy. If you want to be angry at someone, be angry at me,” Leia orders. “I couldn’t risk losing the chance to stop TFO for good.”

“Has he claimed her?” Rey demands angrily. Ben only said he never knotted another, but he never said anything about claiming.

“No, Rey, he hasn’t,” she answers gently. Rey can’t help the flutter of hope that beats in her chest. Something of it must show on her face, because Leia’s expression softens, the firm line of her lips relaxing just a bit.

“They live together, they have for about a year now. She’s a very sweet, smart, warm-hearted woman. Any mother would be happy to have her with their son,” Leia pierces Rey with the intensity of her gaze as she speaks her next words. “Any mother except me.” She rises from her chair and walks around the desk to hug Rey as she sits sobbing in her chair.

“I want you for my son. I always have, and I always will,” she soothes, stroking Rey’s hair in a decidedly maternal gesture of comfort. “But this mission is bigger than all of us, Rey. What we are trying to do will affect millions of Omegas around the world. And as much as I love you and want to see you happy with my son, and to love on the beautiful grandbabies you would give me and Han, we can’t jeopardize this mission.” Rey gets the feeling Leia is trying to commiserate with her over their shared loss of a future that can no longer be.

“D-does he l-l-love her?” Rey stutters into Leia’s chest.

“Not the way I know he would love you.”

“That’s not an answer,” Rey wails, as she pulls away from the embrace to use her cardigan to openly wipe her nose. Her dreams have shattered beyond recognition and she’s ugly crying in front of her boss while discussing her sex life and love life. Using her cardigan as a tissue is the least offensive issue she’s got right now.

“They are very fond of each other. It’s only natural that two people, especially an Alpha and Omega, working together and living together and…being together…” They both wince at the intended meaning. “They care for each other deeply, and that genuine bond has greatly benefited our cause. We are so close to putting the final pieces of the puzzle together.” Rey nods feebly. The cause, of course.

“So once the mission is over, they will go their separate ways?”

“That has always been the plan. I can’t speak for them as they stand today,” she answers gently. Rey chooses to ignore the last statement.

“So, how much longer?”

“Rey—”

“How. Much. Longer.” Rey demands.

Leia shuffles back to lean against Rey’s desk. Rey recognizes the fierce expression on her fearless leader’s face. The news is about to get worse.

So much worse.

“Ben is going to marry Valerie. He plans to propose to her, as publicly as possible, at our founding anniversary ball next weekend. Snoke has promised to hand over the reigns of TFO once Ben is a part of his family, which will give us open access to everything we will need to shut them down for good.”

Rey jumps from her chair to loom over her petite boss.

“Call it off. Now!” She snarls. Rey’s fight-or-flight instinct has kicked into overdrive. And Rey has never been one to back down from a fight; it’s the Alpha side of her DNA.

“I can’t. It’s out of my hands, Rey.”

“No. Call it off. If he marries her, he has to claim her for it to be legal.”

Leia nods sadly. “I know.”

“Snoke won’t recognize the marriage until it’s legal.”

“He won’t.”

“But… but if Ben c-claims her, then…” Rey chokes on the words before they can leave her mouth.

“Ben and Valerie are both well aware of the consequences at play here. They have informed me they plan to stay the course.”

Rey’s shaking her head so hard her vision blurs. _No, no, no, nonononon!_ This can’t be happening. Without thinking, Rey snatches her purse and whips her office door open before running to the elevator, but she doesn’t want to wait—she can hear Leia calling after her and her voice is getting closer and her coworkers are popping their heads above their cubicle walls to stare at her in confused concern. She spins wildly and darts to the door leading to the stairwell.

Only when Rey stumbles through her apartment door does she remember that her home still smells strongly of Ben and their sex. When she had left this morning, she had taken a deep breath, wanting to inhale the scent so deeply that part of it would stay in her lungs all day. Now, she’s choking on the reminder of what happens when she lets her guard down and lets someone in.

Her purse is buzzing at her side and she reaches for her cellphone on autopilot and looks at the screen to see who’s calling her. She expects it to be work, but she’s wrong.

It’s Ben.

She declines it, pressing her thumb down on the little red circle until the screen cracks. She continues declining his call the next dozen or so times he calls. Rey just stands in the middle of her tiny, dark apartment as she mashes her thumb down on the red circle over and over again, watching in mild fascination as the crack splinters and grows with each depression of her digit. Finally, she blocks his number, though she can’t bring herself to delete him just yet.

She quickly fires off a text to Finn and then marches to her bedroom to pack her bags.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Are you doing ok? Do you hate me a lot? Maybe just a little?
> 
> I promise, sweet readers, Reylo is end game and it will be happy and glorious and beautiful. But it's going to hurt before it gets better. 
> 
> Also, at the risk of giving too much away, I PROMISE that the Ben/Valerie relationship is NOT what you think it is! It's not what Leia thinks it is! It's not what Snoke thinks it is! I purposely did not update tags with infidelity or cheating, because none of that is actually truly happening. At least not to a point I feel those tags are actually necessary. 
> 
> And thank you so much to everyone who leaves kudos and comments. They make me smile and give me fuel to keep writing.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The pain train is still chugging along, full steam ahead. 
> 
> Friendly reminder: I'm doing this for fun. I don't have a beta or anyone proofreading/editing. This is just my story, sitting here in AO3, asking for you to read it and maybe enjoy it. That's all.

Rey’s drunk.

In a dirty laundromat.

On a Wednesday afternoon.

At least she hopes it’s afternoon. She squints at the blurry numbers dancing on her cracked phone screen. The time is currently 11:34 am.

Oops. Rey’s drunk on a Wednesday _morning._

Turns out that destroying everything you ever dreamed about is a surprisingly efficient endeavor.

Rey is now only vaguely aware of the world around her as she mindlessly drinks from the cheap bottle of vodka in her hand, her glassy eyes staring numbly at the industrial size dryer in which nearly every article of clothing and linens she owns is currently spinning. She’s a minimalist by nature, so it wasn’t too hard to make everything fit.

That’s how Finn finds her when he dashes into the laundromat, his face crinkling in distaste at the shabby, dingy interior.

“Are you ok, Peanut?” He approaches slowly, cautiously, as if she were a wild animal that might attack without notice.

“I am fan- _fucking_ -tastic, Finn. Never better,” she slurs as she thrusts the vodka bottle into the air in mock celebration. She feels the bottle slip through her fingers as Finn grabs it from her hand. “Hey! I’m not finished with that!”

“Yes, you are,” Finn declares firmly, gripping the bottle tightly. As if Rey were in any condition to wrestle it away from him.

“Maker, Rey, what have you done to yourself,” he mutters to under his breath as he takes in her disheveled appearance. She’s wearing cheap clothes he’s never seen before. Her hair is a mess, half up and half falling out of the once slick ponytail she had it in for work. Her puffy face is streaked with tears and mascara, her eyes nearly swollen shut already. And she’s not wearing any shoes.

After texting Finn a 911 and dropping a pin for the laundromat down the street from her place, she had torn through her apartment in a frantic frenzy to rid her home of that smell: the smell of her and Ben mixed together with love and destiny and laughter… all of it one large pile of craptastic Alpha lies. All her clothing and bedding fit conveniently into two trash bags that she had then hauled down to her car—in one trip mind you. While wearing a pencil skirt and heels.

She made two stops on her way to the laundromat: one stop at the local dollar store to buy new underwear, a tacky too-large shirt with a stupid yellow smiley face, and a pair of neon pink shorts; and one stop at the nearest liquor store to buy the cheapest bottle of vodka she could find. The sassy cashier had smacked her gum before asking in a nasally voice if she was having a bad day. Rey had simply glared at the woman with her puffy, red eyes rimmed with mascara streaks before snatching the bottle off the counter and leaving, while the cashier hollered after her something about men not being worth the trouble. A little too late for that advice.

Upon arriving at the laundromat Rey immediately stripped out of her work clothes and tossed them into the trash. The foster child in her screaming to keep them and wash them with the rest of her clothing, but Rey never wanted to see those items again. Why bother keeping anything that played a part in what she learned today. She even threw her heels—the only pair of heels she owned—into the trash. It was only after she changed into the scratchy new clothes from the dollar store that she realized she hadn’t bought anything for her feet. Whatever. She shrugged her shoulders and walked barefoot through the laundromat, on a peeling linoleum floor that probably hadn’t been mopped since the Bush administration. The first one.

Rey stands up jerkily, her limbs not quite in synch with her brain as she stumbles in Finn’s general direction.

Probably because her bloodstream has been replaced with vodka, and vodka is a poor conductor. An image of the cheap bottle of vodka suddenly sprouting cartoon arms and a conductor’s baton flits about her alcohol-soaked brain.

She snorts to herself at the image before the world goes black.

***************************************

Her eyes flutter open, blinking groggily in the late afternoon sunlight spilling through the sliding glass door. She realizes immediately she must be at Finn and Poe’s house. She sits up, hissing in pain as her head throbs in protest at her sudden movement.

Drunk on a Wednesday morning.

Hungover on a Wednesday afternoon.

This a new low for Rey. Just when she thinks her life can’t get any worse, the big-whatever-upstairs decides to double down on her pain.

With a sigh, she pulls back the knit throw blanket Finn must have draped over her, so she can swing around and sit up, moving slowly so as not to upset her hangover too much. She notices the puke pail next to the couch and smiles softly. It was a college life hack she had taught Finn. And on the dark wood-stained coffee table—that Poe made for them on their 5-year anniversary together—she finds a bottle of ibuprofen and a sweaty bottle of her favorite blue Gatorade. Rey pops the medication in and drinks deeply from the bottle, wiping the condensation off with the blanket before putting it back on the coaster. Poe’s behavior can be a bit sloppy at times, but the man is a certified neat freak and strict enforcer of coaster usage.

“How are you feeling?” Finn asks as he pads softly into the living room to sit next to her on the couch.

“Are you asking about my physical, mental or emotional wellbeing? It’s safe to say, all feel about the same level of broken,” she replies. The tears start falling before she even realizes she’s crying again. Finn stretches to the end table on the other side of the couch to grab the box of tissues, pulls a handful out to give her for immediate use, and places the box gently on her lap. She gives him a watery smile as she wipes roughly at her cheeks.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“No. I mean, yes. But not right now,” she sniffles.

“Take your time. You know you’re welcome here as long as you want to stay.”

“Thank you,” she replies softly. She looks back down at the box of tissues in her lap and notices her shirt is no longer yellow, and she’s not wearing anything else.

Finn notices her frown and rushes to explain, “I had to throw those clothes out, they were dirty and smelly. I put you in one of my shirts. I hope that’s ok.”

If it had been anyone else, it would be a problem. But this is Finn, her best friend, and she trusts him in all things.

“Of course, Finn. Thank you, again. I don’t know what I would do without you.”

“Ditto, Peanut,” he replies as he pulls her to his chest for one of his famous hugs. Normally Rey would melt into his embrace and burrow into the uniquely familiar scent that tells her she’s safe and loved, but the moment the skin of his arm brushes against hers she stiffens. Every cell in her body seems to reject the contact and her skin crawls.

_notmyAlphanotmyAlphanotmyAlpha_

With a gasp, Rey jerks out of his embrace, falling to the floor between the couch and the coffee table, her eyes wide with shock.

“Wow there, Rey. It was just a hug, I swear.” Finn throws his hands up in surrender.

“I know. I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me,” she breathes.

“Maybe you should lie down for a little longer. Here, let me give you a hand,” he offers. She nods and takes his hand, so he can pull her up off the floor, but once again, the moment their skin makes contact her body reacts negatively and she lets out a yelp.

_notmyAlphanotmyAlphanotmyAlpha_

“What’s going on? Maybe you should just go ahead and tell me what happened before you texted me,” Finn insists. He’s moving farther away from her, his hands held high, and it takes everything in her not to throw herself at her friend. She’s lost so much today already, she can’t lose the haven of comfort in her best friend too. She’s never reacted this way to Finn’s touch before and she frowns in frustration. What else has Ben Solo done to her, she wonders. Because this must be his fault somehow; everything about today rests squarely on Ben’s broad shoulders. _Fucking Alphas._

“Yeah, maybe, but I don’t see how my dreams and heart being shredded into a million pieces has anything to do with me not being able to touch you right now,” she wails as fresh tears streak down her face.

“Oh. I take it this is about Ben Solo, then?”

Rey nods, sniffling. Finn’s chest heaves with a drawn-out sigh.

“I’m going to kill that _kriffing_ rat bastard with my bare hands,” he growls.

“We’re adults now. You can say fuck without getting into trouble,” Rey grumbles. It has always bothered her just a bit that Finn has managed to retain so much youthful innocence in the face of what they went through as unwanted foster kids.

“I get enough of that from Poe, I don’t need it from you anymore, _thankyouverymuch.”_

“Fine. But I get to be the one to kill the _kriffing_ rat bastard with my bare hands.”

“Wow, who you calling a rat bastard?” Poe exclaims as he saunters into the living room, directly over to where Finn sits on the loveseat across from the sofa. “Hey, babe,” he murmurs as he leans down to gently brush his lips over Finn’s.

Rey’s heart lurches as the kiss lingers between the two lovers. She’s seen them do this a million times, but something in the domestic banality of the moment feels like a slap in the face in her current situation. Unbidden, a sob racks her chest, followed by another and before she can stop herself, Rey is doubled over the puke pail as the Gatorade she drank before is ejected from her body. Sobbing and vomiting at the same time is not something Rey ever cares to repeat again in this lifetime. Or the next.

The guys quickly clean up the mess while Rey staggers to the bathroom to scrub her face and brush her teeth with the spare she keeps at their house. Their get-togethers tended to end in drunken sleepovers more often than not. When she returns to the living room, both are sitting next to each other on the loveseat, an almost identical solemn expression on their faces. She gets the sudden feeling that she’s in trouble with her parents. As she sinks down into her spot on the couch she notices a brief look of disgust touch Poe’s features before he checks himself.

“I think you need to talk about whatever happened today. I’ve never seen you like this before, Peanut. You’re scaring me,” Finn entreats. Before Rey can respond, Poe jumps from his seat, striding to the sliding glass door and yanking it open.

“Sorry, guys. Guess I’m just a little sensitive to the smell,” he says apologetically, giving a sheepish shrug to Rey as he settles back down next to Finn. She nods in understanding. An Alpha’s sense of smell tends to be stronger than others.

Rey launches into her story without further ado, starting with what happened at the marathon. It takes a while, with Rey talking in fits and starts, breaking off to cry as she shares the promises Ben made to her in the Heat Tent; and when she talks about how unexpectedly funny her dark and dangerous Alpha turned out to be; and when she shares all the ways in which he was attentive to her during her heat, and Poe murmured his approval and surprise at just how well Ben fulfilled his Alpha duties.

They take a brief story break to eat delivery pizza and open a bottle of wine. “You get _one_ glass of wine, for the antioxidants,” Poe bemused, a cheeky grin on his face. He was trying to bring levity to the moment, but Rey’s heart just wasn’t in it. Still, she offered a thin smile and sipped gratefully at the dry red wine, savoring the slight sting in her throat as she swallowed.

She decides to skip over the doctor’s office visit. No need to share the embarrassingly soul-wrenching details of how her gynecologist thinks she and Ben are a “one true pair” couple.

When she gets to the part about Leia discussing Ben’s double agent cover, Poe starts pacing. She can practically smell the anger rolling off the man as he stalks up one side of the room and back down again. It reminds her of Ben and how he reacts to anger. Must be an Alpha thing. Finn just sits in stony silence.

“I take it back, Sasquatch is the fucking _worst_ Alpha,” Poe growls from the other side of the open door when she finishes her story. She’s not sure when he moved outside.

Finn shakes his head, muttering under his breath, “This doesn’t make sense. This makes literally no sense.”

Meanwhile, Rey is feeling like she has achieved a small victory, because she managed to stop crying somewhere in the middle of retelling the Leia portion of her day.

“Ok, seriously, how are you guys ok with that smell in the house,” Poe exclaims from the porch. Rey startles at the vehemence in his tone and looks at the Alpha to see that he’s panting, breathing only from his mouth.

“What smell?” Rey and Finn respond in unison. Poe’s brow furrows and he tentatively sticks his head through the open door and inhales deeply, only to promptly start gagging and stumbling back.

“This isn’t funny, Poe,” Finn admonishes, arms crossed. Poe does have a history of over-the-top antics. He’ll do just about anything to get a laugh and it’s just like him to attempt to inject humor into the situation.

“I’m not trying to be funny or make Rey feel uncomfortable, but I’m pretty sure she’s where the smell is coming from,” Poe complains. “No offense, sweetheart.”

“It’s ok, I understand. My apartment reeks of, well, you know. That’s why I wanted to wash all of my things. Speaking of, where are all my things?”

“Sorry, Peanut. I forgot them in the car! I’ll go get them now. You go take a shower and I’ll put our stuff in the guest room for you.” Rey nods gratefully at Finn’s retreating form. She offers Poe another apology as she shuffles out of the living room, careful to stay as far away from the Alpha as possible. She’s too tired and emotioned-out to feel even a little embarrassed. At this point, she just wants to shower, change into her own clothing—that, hopefully, no longer smells like _him_ —and sleep for a week. So she’s not at all prepared, mentally or emotionally, to deal with the surprise waiting for her when she walks into the guest room after her shower.

Instead of two bags full of freshly laundered clothes, she finds Finn. He’s sitting on the bed, empty handed and looking like he wants to be anywhere but in the room with her.

“We have a problem, Peanut.”

Rey just stands there dumbly, water dripping off the tips of her hair onto the carpet.

“Where are my clothes?”

Finn squirms on the bed. “They’re in the backyard.”

“Why are my clothes in the backyard?” She doesn’t like the sharp edge of her tone anymore than Finn seems to, but she’s not sure she can handle one more problem today.

Finn takes a deep breath. “Poe says your clothes reek. He’s at the store right now buying a metric ton’s worth of Pheraway, most likely. He couldn’t stand being in the house without gagging. We know it’s not your fault, we totally understand, but if that stuff doesn’t help my Alpha with being able to breathe in his own home, we’re gonna have to put you up in a hotel,” he finishes softly. His warm brown eyes begging her to understand his conundrum. He’s being torn between two loyalties and he can’t hide the pain it’s causing behind his eyes. What’s left of her heart aches for her friend and her first instinct is to protect him.

“Of course, Finn. I understand. I’ll just go grab a change of clothes from the backyard, load up my stuff, and head to a hotel—”

“No, you don’t have to do that!”

She gives her dearest friend the sincerest smile she can muster, “You’ve already done so much for me, Finn. You and Poe. I can never repay you.”

“That’s not what this is about, and you know it,” he huffs from the bed. “Look, I’ll get you another one of my shirts. Let’s at least give the Pheraway a chance,” he implores.

Rey sighs deeply. She really doesn’t want to actually go through the effort of finding a cheap, but safe hotel right now. The exhaustion has seeped into her bone marrow. She nods curtly.

“It’s settled then,” Finn cheers, rising from the bed and engulfing her in his arms. Just like before, her body reacts like she’s touched a live wire. The crawling sensation races up her spine, making her yelp in surprise as she pulls herself out of Finn’s embrace.

_notmyAlphanotmyAlphanotmyAlpha_

“What’s going on? You’ve never reacted this way before. Do you think I’m trying to make a move on you?”

“No, no, of course not!” Rey shouts a little too aggressively. She really doesn’t think he’s trying to make a move on her. Finn’s never made a move on her, even when he helped her through heats. “I don’t understand why this is happening. It’s not intentional, Finn, I swear.”

Finn nods but the look on his face tells her he doesn’t quite believe her, and that hurts. “Has this happened with anyone else today?”

Rey replays her day in her head, before shaking her head.

“Who else has touched you today?”

“The doctor, her nurse, Leia and you. I think that’s it. Maybe the cashier at the dollar store.” Rey shrugs.

“You went to the doctor today? You didn’t mention that before.”

Rey rolls her eyes, “I don’t have to tell you every single detail of my day. It was a routine visit, everything is fine.” Finn just shrugs his shoulders.

“Don’t doctor’s wear gloves when touching patients?”

“Oh, you’re right. They were wearing gloves. Still, Leia hugged me, and it didn’t feel like what’s happening now.”

Finn hums in response. “Nothing about the hug felt off to you?”

Rey’s getting irritable now. Why won’t he just drop it?

“My boss, who happens to be the mother of the Alpha who just fucked me raw for 5 days straight, was consoling me after telling me that her idiot Alpha son is going to marry and claim another Omega. So, yeah, the hug was a little off. My whole day has been a little off!” Rey stomps dramatically.

“I’m sorry! I was just trying to help. According to Poe your smell has changed, and every time I touch you you act like I’ve just electrocuted you; thought they might be related and just wanted to figure it out,” Finn barks back at her, crossing his arms and popping one hip out.

“Your Alpha is being overdramatic, as usual. No one else has complained about my scent, including my Alpha boss. And maybe my body is all touched out after being touched near constantly for the last 5 days. You know what it’s like to be with an Alpha in rut. Why do I have to explain this to you?” Rey wails, throwing her arms out in frustration.

They both stare at each other in wide-eyed shock. Rey and Finn never fight. In all the years they’ve known each other, they’ve never been more than crabby. She’s not even sure why she’s getting so worked up over this, except that her emotions are feeling particularly raw right now, especially for someone who works so hard to not feel.

She clutches her head in both hands, squeezing her eyes shut. “I’m so sorry, Finn,” she whispers.

“Me, too, Peanut.”

“Honey, I’m home!” Poe calls out in sing-song fashion only to end it with an entirely exaggerated gagging sound. “And it still stinks!”

Rey shoots Finn an “I told you so” look.

“Ok, so he’s a tiny bit dramatic. It’s sexy,” Finn hisses as he follows Poe’s voice to the kitchen, leaving Rey standing in nothing but a towel, still dripping water onto the carpet. She closes the door with a sigh, then climbs into bed and crawls under the covers naked. She’s fast asleep before her head even hits the pillow.

Rey wakes the next morning, yawning and stretching. For a few blissful seconds, everything is normal as she takes in the soft sunlight filtering in through the gauzy white curtains and listens to the songbird chirping cheerfully outside. But the cold hard reality of her lonely future hangs like a thundercloud over her head, casting a shadow on the day before it gets the chance to begin. She finds a note from Finn on the bedside table telling her there’s a fresh pot of coffee waiting for her in the kitchen, that the Pheraway seems to work well enough to satisfy Poe’s delicate sensibilities, and that Finn is over at her apartment to use it there and open her windows to air it out for her. He’s even washing her clothes in the Pheraway detergent Poe also bought.

Rey smiles to herself, her eyes filling with happy tears. Maybe her future won’t be entirely lonely.

Although paying them back for the Pheraway is going to cost her a pretty penny. The stuff isn’t cheap, which is yet another crime against Omegas as far as Rey is concerned. Omegas are typically the only consumer buying the stuff, because they’re the only ones who need to get rid of the cloying pheromone smell of an unwanted Alpha.

It’s puzzling as to why Poe reacted so strongly to the smell, assuming it’s just the lingering smell of sex with an Alpha. Alphas scent their partners to fend off other Alphas, but it’s not a disgusting or foul smell. Her smell hadn’t bothered anyone else yesterday, including her Alpha boss. Rey rolls her eyes and writes it off as Poe being dramatic. She’s an Omega encroaching on his territory and mate. It’s not the first time Poe has reacted strangely to her presence in their home.

Rey also finds her cellphone on the bedside table, plugged in and fully charged. She hesitates to pick it up. Ben is blocked, but his mother is not. Taking a deep breath and chiding herself for being afraid of an inanimate object, she picks up her phone and clicks the home screen open. To her great relief, she only has missed calls from Finn from yesterday, but no other missed calls or messages. She thumbs through her email to find only one email from work, a notice that she can work from home for the next 30 days should she feel so inclined. She sends a silent thank you to Leia and quickly types a response to HR to have her work laptop couriered over to Finn and Poe’s home.

Once she’s taken care of her morning business in the bathroom, she makes herself a cup of coffee—more cream and sugar than actual coffee—and checks on her laundry. She squeals with delight to discover a pile of clean and folded clothes that don’t smell like sex or Alpha. Rey pulls her borrowed shirt over her head and immediately changes into a pair of comfy sweats, a sports bra and tank top. She’s feeling a little more like herself, more human, now that she’s wearing her own stuff again.

Finn and Poe agree to let Rey stay through the weekend. Her home is set back to right, but she still can’t handle the ghosts of her time with Ben still haunting her place. As long as they keep windows open and spray the Pheraway just before Poe comes home, the smell isn’t an issue. Finn refrains from touching her and Poe does the same, though he’s never really touched Rey much to begin with. Rey happily shuts herself in their home, setting up a nest of sorts in their guest room. She makes a point to clean the house each day between online work meetings and emails. She even has an order of groceries delivered to the house, because apparently that’s a thing with the upscale grocery store down the street, and cooks dinner for them Thursday and Friday night. But by Saturday afternoon, boredom sets in. She feels antsy, her skin itchy. She’d swear she was about to go into heat if she didn’t know better. The emergency suppressant is nearly foolproof, and besides, she’s not hot or cramping. But she wants to have sex. Badly. And that’s not like Rey at all.

Outside of her quarterly heats, Rey usually doesn’t give a second thought to having sex. She’s had a few boyfriends, all Betas, and that was alright, but nothing worth pursuing once those relationships inevitably fizzled out. They couldn’t understand why she only wanted Finn to take care of her heats. One of them told her she was dead inside because she didn’t seem to feel emotions like a normal person. If only that were true, then this Ben Solo issue wouldn’t hurt so fucking much.

“You want revenge sex, sweetheart. It’s simple biology,” Poe smirks when she approaches the guys about going for the night after explaining how antsy she’s been feeling.

“Pretty sure it has nothing to do with biology,” Finn snaps, looking irritated. “Not everything is dictated by biology.”

“Yes, it is,” Poe chuckles, clearly enjoying the moment more than anyone else present. “Sweetheart, you got your heart broken by a Sasquatch. The best way to get over him is to get under a better one.” Poe finishes with a wave of his hands and a broad smile on his handsome face. He’s clearly proud of his advice.

“That is the dumbest advice I have ever heard. Rey, don’t listen to him.”

But Rey is listening to him, because what he’s saying appeals to a part of her that’s usually kept hidden in the dark. She’s played it safe for most of her life, but maybe it’s time for a change. Maybe her heart wouldn’t hurt so much if she fucked Ben Solo right out of her. Suddenly a drunken one-night stand sounds incredibly appealing in a way it never has before.

“Poe’s right,” Rey chimes in.

“See, I told—wait, what?” Finn stutters incredulously. Poe’s laughing and slapping Finn on the back with glee.

“See, babe! Even Rey agrees,” he chuckles before turning to Rey. “You’re a sexy, single Omega and you should be out there living your life and not hiding from it. You’ve been stuck on this Solosquatch guy—hey, that’s fucking funny, Solosquatch—for 10 years too long. Get out there and get laid.”

“I swear, Poe Dameron, that is the most disgustingly Alpha thing you have ever said,” Finn fumes, shooting daggers at his boyfriend.

“Let’s go out tonight,” Rey offers. Poe gives her a double-thumbs up even as Finn shakes his head vigorously. “Come on, Finn, please? I need to get out and breathe and let loose.”

“And get laid,” Poe snickers and Rey joins him, her eyes lighting up for the first time in days. Not even over-protective Finn can ignore the way the dullness finally leaves her eyes at the thought of going out for the night. He rolls his eyes.

“Fine, but I’m not helping you find some douchey Alpha to sleep with tonight,” he states firmly.

“That’s my job, babe,” Poe snarks back. “But seriously, sweetheart, we’ll go out with you tonight. If you just want to get drunk and have fun, great. If you want to find someone for the night, no judgements here. But I have a few rules if you decide to get your sweet ass laid: I insist that you let me meet him before you leave with him, you will take him back to your place—no going to his place or going to some sleazy motel—and I will be calling you in the morning and if you don’t answer or respond within five minutes I’m calling the cops and then heading over myself.”

“Wow, Poe, I’m touched,” Rey says, sincerely as she realizes just how serious the man is about her safety.

Meanwhile Finn is slouched over, elbows on his knees, one hand under his chin and the other pinching the bridge of his nose as he shuts his eyes with a sigh. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't look at me like that. You booked your ticket and now you will finish the ride.
> 
> I'm not giving any spoilers, but just keep on hanging on.
> 
> Just kidding, here's one spoiler: Valerie makes her debut in the next chapter! And it's going to go about as well as you suspect it will...or does it????


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm just as anxious as y'all to get past this angst, so have another chapter. Please note the updated tags! Updated tags DO NOT apply to this chapter. I repeat, updated tags DO NOT apply to this chapter. See notes for more details.
> 
> Also, this will not be a Reylo baby fic. I love Reylo babies as much as the next person, but they don't fit into my story. There will be no pregnancy of any kind in this fic. Sorry to disappoint.
> 
> Rey's a sexy, single Omega and she's ready to mingle. It doesn't end well. Valerie makes an appearance. That also doesn't end well, but we all saw that coming.

Rey is vibrating with excitement as she puts the finishing touches on her makeup. No more hiding from life, no more sulking over a relationship that never existed outside her head. No more waiting. She’s stepping out and moving on, ready to unleash a voracious appetite for all the things she’s denied herself the past 10 years. Ben clearly wasn’t denying himself of anything, so why should she. Rey is no longer going to deny that what she hungers for most right now is sex. Meaningless, nameless, down and dirty sex that will make her forget about the Ben Solo shaped hole in her heart.

She takes a step back to admire her efforts in the guest room mirror. Even in college, Rey never put much effort into her going out “look.” She was a poor college student, and really, she always just felt sad for the girls making such an obvious attempt to be noticed in a grimy hole-in-the-wall college bar. But mostly, she was never interested in attracting men that way. That changes tonight.

She wants to be noticed now.

She’s wearing her tightest pair of dark denim skinny jeans, tucked into black heeled boots that lace up to her ankle, and a dark green top with long sleeves and a low neckline that clings to her like a second skin. It’s a deceptively innocent outfit, but it shows off her toned, lithe form to perfection. The fabric is just thin enough to see a hint of the sparkly black push-up bra beneath it, giving Rey a bit more cleavage than she deserves. Her hair is a glossy cascade of loose curls framing her face, highlighting her heavily lined smoky eyes. She applies a light coating of tinted lip balm and smirks at the completed picture. This sexy, single Omega is ready.

It’s only 9 pm, still early for a night out, but Rey doesn’t want to waste another moment. The rest of her life begins now and she’s anxious to get going. She tucks her phone into a back pocket with her ID and cash and heads down the hall to the living room, where she assumes the guys are not-so-patiently waiting for her. The guys are waiting, but they’re too busy whisper-shouting with each other to notice her entrance.

“…doesn’t matter anymore, not after what he’s done,” Poe whispers furiously. She can only see their profiles, but it’s clear this isn’t a friendly discussion.

“I told you it’s _never_ going to happen. Just drop it,” Finn grits out between clenched teeth. Rey’s never seen him look so aggressive before. A sinking feeling drowns her excitement as she considers this could very well be about her.

“It’s her safest option and you know it, wha—”

“Peanut!” Finn calls out in a thin voice, his lips forcing their way into a facsimile of a smile. Poe shakes his head before turning in her direction. Their anger seems to melt as they both eye her up and down.

“Are you trying to get me killed?” Poe teases, but his smile is strained. Rey glances down at herself before shooting him a quizzical look. “It’s going to be a full-time job fighting the Alphas off you tonight.”

“I think we’ll be alright if we stick with just BB-8 tonight, deal?” Finn suggests firmly. He’s not asking, not really. Rey and Poe both nod in agreement. The Beta Bar-8 (the eighth location of the popular bar franchise) is typically Alpha-free, save for the few mated Alphas, such as Poe, who accompany their partner. On a typical night, the place is usually crawling with Betas and Omegas of varying designations, some mixes and some pure, but it’s rare for an Alpha to bother going to a Beta bar. Rey’s fine with the choice; all she wants out of tonight is to be desired and to get laid and she’s not picky about her partner’s designation.

“Wait, one more thing before we head out,” Poe says as he disappears into the kitchen. She grins in anticipation of a pre-game shot, but the grin falters when Poe comes back with an aerosol can instead. Before she or Finn can ask him what he’s doing, Poe’s spraying her in a fine mist from head to toe. Rey coughs as the droplets sting her lungs when she accidentally inhales a cloud of spray.

“What the actual fuck, man?!” Finn shouts, stomping over to yank the can out of his boyfriend’s hand. Rey gapes at her best friend, caught somewhere between amused shock at his use of the word fuck and boiling anger at Poe for spraying her with whatever the hell is in that can. Honestly, the way Alphas think they can do whatever they want without permission first is infuriating.

“It’s so she doesn’t stink up the car, and it’s a favor to help her get laid. I believe you meant to say you’re welcome,” he quips defensively. Finn rolls his eyes, dropping the now-obvious can of Pheraway onto the couch, shooting Rey an apologetic smile. They head out into the night, keeping the car windows down for the relatively short ride to the bar.

The guys look unassumingly handsome, each wearing fitted jeans and polos, but Rey can’t help feeling proud of her two men. She hooks an arm around Finn’s arm experimentally; to her great relief, she doesn’t feel the crawling electric shock that skin on skin contact seems to bring. It’s a little uncomfortable, her spine tingling like it does when she’s walking through her dark apartment at night and she could swear something was following her, even when she knew nothing was there. It’s sort of like that, but she tells herself she can deal with it. He gives her a comforting smile and they walk into the bar, arm in arm, Poe strutting ahead to get the door.

Rey buys the first round, and they saddle up to the bar together in tacit agreement to drink the first round together, joking amiably with the bartender, before Finn and Poe wave off to chat with some friends across the bar. Poe assures her he’ll have a better vantage point at the back anyway. She feels a thrum of nervous energy now that the moment is here. It’s still early on a Saturday night, but the place is packed with young professionals eager to burn their hard-earned money on booze fueled mistakes they’ll swear off on Sunday morning only to repeat the next weekend.

The BB-8 is modeled after the stereotypical Irish pub, surfaces of gleaming wood accented with greens and gold. Several pool tables line the back of the bar, where Poe and Finn are involved in a game with friends she doesn’t recognize. There’s a few dart boards scattered against another wall, with the front reserved for booths and pub tables. The trio have spent many nights hanging out in this bar, so she feels comfortable despite her nerves. It gives her the confidence to boldly lock eyes with a tall, sandy blonde guy at one of the pub tables in the center of the room, offering up a flirty smile as she takes another sip of her Jameson and ginger ale. He smiles back and gestures for her to join him. Rey takes a deep breath, muttering “here goes nothing” to herself as she scoots off the bar stool and saunters over.

The blonde’s name is Jack, and he has sparkling blue-green eyes and an easy smile that lights up his face. Their conversation flows naturally over the course of two more drinks—that he adamantly insists on buying. She occasionally nods surreptitiously at Poe as he watches her like a hawk from across the room. By the third drink Rey decides they’ve done enough talking; she’s ready to move this party to her apartment. Jack is handsome and funny, and she’d be lying if she didn’t admit there’s a genuine spark of attraction. So when he casually moves in closer, letting his hand “accidentally” brush against hers, she’s disappointed to feel that crawling sensation flare brightly at the contact. “Are you a full Beta?” Political correctness be damned, Rey doesn’t want to waste time on a guy she can’t touch, and surely there’s a guy here she can touch. There has to be. For his part, Jack takes the question in stride, giving her a toothy grin that crinkles at the corners of his eyes.

“No, I’m actually mostly Alpha. Well, half-and-half, really,” he answers, and he must think her question is a come-on, because the next thing she knows he’s leaning in for a kiss. Rey scrunches her eyes closed, stomach in knots, fingers crossed that this touch won’t hurt. But he never kisses her. Her eyes flutter open after it becomes clear the kiss is not happening, her face flaming with embarrassment that perhaps she had misjudged his intentions. She looks up at him to see a familiar expression of Alpha disgust. “You smell funny. Are you claimed?” And that definitely comes across as an accusation.

“Sorry, but I’ve got to go,” she stammers as she scrambles off the pub chair and darts away, Jack loudly proclaiming her to be a lying bitch. She makes a beeline to the booth where Poe and Finn are now seated, sliding into the empty bench across from them.

“Strike out?” Poe asks as he waves a waitress over to their table.

“Crash and burn,” she laments, resting her elbows on the table and her head in her hands.

“Maybe it’s for the best, Peanut,” Finn offers sympathetically. “We can leave if you’re ready.”

“No,” she states firmly, slapping her hands down on the table. “I’m not leaving until I find someone to fuck tonight.” Finn winces at her crude language. Even Poe winces at her statement and that’s saying a lot.

The waitress returns quickly with the three Irish Car Bombs Poe ordered. The friends drop the shot and chug the beer in a friendly competition to see who beats the other two. Rey slams her glass down first with a triumphant shout. They clink empty glasses in cheers and the energy in the bar seems to shift. Rey feels that nervous excitement flare in her belly, ignoring the voice of logic telling her it’s the alcohol. Her night’s not over yet. She convinces the guys to order another round of pool, figuring she’ll get more attention if she’s leaning seductively over the table with her cleavage on display. She’s seen it work for countless other women. The guys head over to secure a table while Rey heads to the bathroom.

Rey decides she’s on a lucky streak when she discovers there’s no line in the bathroom for a stall. There’s almost _always_ a line in the lady’s room. She quickly goes about her business in the oddly immaculate bathroom, humming to herself as she heads to the sink to wash up. At first, she’s so caught up in her own head, plotting the best angle to lean over the pool table, that she doesn’t notice the petite girl standing frozen behind her. In fact, she very nearly knocks her over when she turns to pull a paper towel before she even sees her.

“Oh, sorry about that,” Rey giggles. Her head is going fuzzy now that the shot and beer are contributing to her buzz. The girl doesn’t move, doesn’t make a sound, doesn’t even seem to blink. If she didn’t know any better, Rey would think the poor thing was frozen in fear.

“Are you alright??” Rey inquires as her brow knits in concern. It’s clear just from looking at her that this girl is a pure Omega. She looks like a real-life version of Sleeping Beauty right down to her lustrous golden locks ending in curls. Her outfit is a little off for a bar and looks like it’s better suited to an afternoon tea. She’s all pastel colors and soft lines and demure neckline and hemline. A beautiful, prim and proper fantasy come to life to fulfill the fantasies of submission every Alpha drools over.

Rey snaps her fingers in the girl’s face when she still doesn’t answer or blink. Suddenly Sleeping Beauty reanimates, her eyes darting everywhere but at Rey as she stumbles back.

“Do you need help? Is an Alpha bothering you? Rey asks, careful to keep her tone gentle. Clearly this Omega spooks easily, her doe-eyes widening further at the mention of Alpha.

“No, no, I’m o-ok,” the girl stammers in her frustratingly perfect breathy Omega voice. Rey has always known she carries to much Alpha genome in her DNA to ever look and sound and behave like the ideal Omega. And for the most part, Rey takes pride in this fact. But tonight, a part of Rey bleeds over her imperfections in the presence of this perfect mate ideal. It’s not the girl’s fault, Rey knows, but she instantly hates the petite princess standing in front her, because her hindbrain is screaming that this girl is competition.

_stayawayfrommyAlphastayawayfrommyAlpha_

Sleeping Beauty suddenly yelps, and Rey realizes she’s been snarling at the girl while crowding her into a corner. She has no idea why she’s doing this, but worse, she had no idea she was even doing it until the girl’s sound of distress echoed off the bathroom walls. Rey shakes her head, stumbling away.

“I am so sorry, so sorry,” she mumbles as she darts out of the bathroom and back to the pool table. The air out here is refreshingly cooler and thinner compared to the bathroom. Rey inhales deeply as the waves of possessive aggression recede. What the hell was that all about?

“You doing ok, sweetheart? You look a little pale,” Poe places a warm hand at the small of her back and Rey’s skin ignites. A cry of pain sounds from her deep in her throat as she launches herself forward into the wall and away from the source of pain. “Fucking hell, Rey,” Poe exclaims.

“I told you not to touch her,” Finn hisses. He turns to Rey, “We’re all set to play a round with some friends of ours, if that’s alright with you? Want me to get you some water?” She knows Finn is trying to salvage her pride now that her plans for the night are mere dust on the wind at this point. It’s crystal clear to her now that she will not be having any revenge sex tonight. Or possibly ever. The realization weighs heavy on her shoulders and she sags against the wall in defeat.

“Yeah, water sounds great,” she replies tonelessly. Finn nods and walks away while Rey continues to lean against the wall and stare at nothing.

“Rey, snap out of it and come meet our pool buddies,” Poe shouts cheerfully. “You remember Rose, right?” She nods affirmatively. Rose is what happy would look like if emotions were sentient beings. She likes Rose, and a hint of hope blooms in her chest that maybe this night is still salvageable. Her motivation for sex is muted, but there’s still fun to be had. She pushes off the wall and ambles over to say hello. As she rounds behind Poe to stand beside him, she sees two more people standing with Rose; one looks like she could be Rose’s sister, and the second is none other than Sleeping Beauty, who once again freezes when her eyes land on Rey. Oddly enough, so does the girl who looks like she could be Rose’s sister.

“This is Paige, Rose’s older sister. And this is Paige’s mate, Val,” Poe grins widely at the two women. Rose is giving serious side eye to her sister when the latter doesn’t move to extend a hand in greeting. Or move in general.

“You’re Rey. Ben’s Rey,” Paige finally stammers out. Poe’s giving himself whiplash as his heads volleys between Rey and Paige.

“You’re Valerie,” Rey breathes. The achingly beautiful Omega nods her head slowly, grabbing her so-called mate’s hand as she angles herself behind Paige.

“You’re the Omega Ben plans to marry and c-claim,” Rey stutters. She can feel a sob building in her chest, blood rushing in her ears.

_STAYAWAYFROMMYALPHA_

“Oh, fuck me, this is bad,” Poe mutters as he grabs Rey by her shoulders and yanks her back, because Rey is snarling, teeth bared, and nose scrunched in pure rage. “Finn, buddy, I’m gonna need some help over here! CODE RED! CODE RED!”

Rey’s skin is on fire where Poe is physically restraining her, and it only fuels the black-out rage bubbling up from the depths of she doesn’t know where. Her mind a symphony of instincts telling her to maim or kill the Omega competition in front of her, to take her out of the running for the Alpha they both want. Poe is locking her into his chest in an attempt to subdue her, the contact a scalding sear of pain the longer it goes on. Poe’s mistaking her howls of pain for howls of rage.

Suddenly Rey is drowning in ice cold water.

No.

No way.

No way did Finn just pour a glass of ice water on her head.

Finn just poured a glass of ice water over her head, and someone else is pouring another glass of ice water over her head. It has the intended effect, and she goes limp in Poe’s arms before Finn yanks her away from his boyfriend.

“All of you, out of my bar. NOW,” yells the burly bartender they had been joking with only a couple of hours before. He’s pointing at their pool table, so he must mean Rose, Paige, and Valerie too. Paige looks terrified, tears streaking down her face. Rose just looks stunned as she nudges her sister to start walking. Of the three, Valerie appears to be the calmest. Her eyes are wide, but she’s not crying, and she doesn’t look frightened anymore; her face is a carefully composed blank slate.

The bouncers usher them outside with a firm warning about loitering outside the bar. Finn takes Rey by the arm and gently walks her in the direction of their car. Her body shivering as the cool night air hits her wet head.

“Rey, wait!” Valerie shouts from somewhere behind her. “Rey, please!”

“Just keep walking, Peanut. We’re almost to the car,” Finn whispers as he picks up the pace. Poe’s already got the engine running.

“We need to talk about Ben,” Valerie cries out, and her voice sounds so much closer now. Rey feels the hairs on her neck prickle. “Please Rey, just hear me out. It’s not what you think. I’m mated to Paige; I don’t want Ben the way you want him. It’s not what you think,” the Omega pleads.

But Rey doesn’t listen. Rey doesn’t care. She lets Finn tuck her into the backseat of Poe’s car and pretends she doesn’t see Valerie sobbing in the parking lot as Paige wraps an arm protectively around her mate’s back, her eyes locked with Rey’s as they exit the parking lot.

On the radio, Ed Sheerhan’s “Bloodstream” starts to play.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The pain train packs a punch, but it's starting to lose steam, I promise. The next chapter will still have some angst, but questions will be answered and understanding will help soothe the ache. Y'all, I'm just going to warn you: Valerie's childhood straight up sucked, but what else can you expect when Snoke is your father. She is not the bad guy here. Be kind to Valerie.
> 
> The updated tags will come into play in the next chapter. It will not be explicit, but it is important to the story. I will give a warning at the top of the next chapter that includes directions on skipping the potentially triggering part, and there will be a detailed chapter summary in the notes for those that want to skip the chapter all together but still want to know the important stuff pertaining to Reylo.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ok, folks, this is it. This is an emotional train-wreck of a massive data dump. I'm not kidding when I say that it gets dark. There will be discussion of abuse by way of control. There will be mention of forced dubcon/noncon that occurs prior to this fic. I have placed *** above the section I think could be the most triggering. You can scroll to the second set of *** to avoid it. It is not explicit or especially detailed, but it is discussed at length. I think you can avoid that section and still understand the chapter and gist. I will leave more in the notes.
> 
> This was really hard to write. Hats off to authors who regularly dabble in the darker subject matter. I hope I got it right. I am giving you all a triple post tonight. The next chapter is still difficult, but ends on a better note. The third update will be the emotional smut we all need to feel better about the next two chapters.

She knows she needs to get out of bed. There’s cleaning and packing to do, and her stomach is demanding some form of sustenance as well. Instead, Rey snuggles deeper under the comforter and continues her vigil of the sun’s march across the sky as Sunday morning turns into Sunday afternoon. She is the inverse of eager to start the first moments of her _new_ new life; her last new life having crashed and burned in the span of a few hours last night. As long the bedroom door remains closed, she is still technically in last night’s new life, and she doesn’t have to face the harsh reality of her _actual_ life. A life where she can’t touch another male, especially an Alpha, but also Betas. A life where she will never know a lover’s caress or feel the comfort of a warm hug after a bad day ever again. She will never get the chance to meet a nice guy, fall in love, and build a family together; she doesn’t think she can inflict a lifetime of celibacy on a mate, and she knows she won’t share a mate either, even though she knows that makes her a hypocrite in the worst way.

Last weekend, she was having the best sex of her life, with the man she thought was the love of her life, come to sweep her onto his trusty stead and ride off into the sunset to their happily-ever-after. But now she knows that was all a lie, and the memories of their time together are forever tainted; because Ben Solo is a hurricane and he left nothing standing in his wake. He decimated her memories—her past with him and the future that will never be. The family they will never create.

The mattress dips as Finn sits on the bed and it startles her from her thoughts. She fumbles to find the edge of the comforter, pulling blindly until she can pop her head up to see her best friend sitting beside her. He looks nervous. He opens his mouth to speak, only to immediately snap it shut, before opening it again.

“You need to come out to the living room with me,” he insists.

“Why?”

“You need to come to the living room with me to find out,” he says, but he’s careful not to look directly at her as he speaks.

“Why?” Rey demands, pulling herself up to sit, crossing her arms in agitation.

“Please, Peanut. I can’t tell you why right now; just come with me into the living room,” he pleads, still not looking her in the eye.

Rey eyes the open doorway leading to the hall. She doesn’t want to walk through that door. She can’t take losing one more thing.

“Are you leaving me too?” She whispers hoarsely, the lump in her throat making it difficult to swallow.

“What? Gods, no! What makes you think that?” Finn asks incredulously.

“It’s what the people I care about seem to do in my life, and after my behavior last night…” she mumbles with a shrug, eyes downcast.

“I will never leave you, Rey. Never,” he responds vehemently. He pulls her into a hug—she’s wearing long sleeves—being careful not to touch any exposed skin. “I love you, Rey. Please tell me you know that.”

She nods, “I love you too.” She lets him help her untangle from the comforter and waits in the hall while she stops to brush her teeth and hair. The black capri leggings and baggy grey sweater will have to suffice; she doesn’t feel like changing her clothes. The guys have seen her in worse.

Finn is fidgeting at the end of the hall. Rey suspects this has to do with whatever he and Poe were arguing about before they left for the bar last night.

She couldn’t have been more wrong.

Sitting in the living room, in her best friend’s home—her safety nest away from the rest of reality—are Valerie, Paige, and Rose. They look relaxed and comfortable, as if this were a friendly social call on old friends. The coffee table is littered with drinks in various states of approaching empty. The girls have obviously been here a while.

“Before you get mad, I need you to know that we, Poe and I, feel that you should listen to what Valerie and Paige have to say. They’ve already shared their story with us, and we think you need to hear it too,” Finn babbles nervously. Rey just stands, staring dumbly at the Omega who as recently as this morning was lying in bed next to her Ben. Did she kiss him good morning? Did she make him breakfast? Ben’s favorite meal of the day growing up was breakfast. Is it still his favorite?

Did they have morning sex—Ben murmuring sweet nothings into Valerie’s ear as he thrusts lazily into her the way he did with her just last week? She tries not to let that thought coalesce, but she is powerless to stop it.

Rey’s nostrils flare as she inhales deeply, but she only detects the faintest hint of Ben’s scent; so faint that she could very well be imagining it. And that seems odd because shouldn’t his Omega smell like him? Come to think of it, Rey didn’t smell Ben on her at the bar yesterday either.

“Why don’t you smell like Ben?” Rey blurts before she can stop herself.

To her surprise, Valerie and Paige smile at her question, communicating with each other silently as they exchange a meaningful glance. Finn guides her to sit with him on the loveseat, with Poe sitting in the lounge chair on Finn’s side. There’s a steaming cup of coffee on the coaster in front of her and she cradles the cup with both hands while whispering a ‘thank you’ to her men.

Valerie leans forward. “I don’t smell like Ben because I’ve been staying with Paige since last Thursday.” Rey does the mental math and realizes that was the day of the marathon. “I know what Leia told you about our mission, but it’s not the whole picture. And I want to assure you that the mission has not been compromised by this development. My father thinks I’m nursing a broken heart over my Alpha being an Alpha. He thinks I’m being ridiculous meanwhile he’s immensely proud of Ben.” Valerie and Paige roll their eyes in sync with each other.

Rey quirks an eyebrow at her. “Is that what you’re calling your Alpha fucking another Omega for 5 days and promising to claim her? A _development_.” Valerie cringes at her biting tone.

“He’s not my Alpha, Rey. He never has been, and he never will be. I’m mated to Paige, she’s a Beta-Omega. We’ve been mated for about one-and-a-half years now,” she asserts, resting a hand on Paige’s knee and smiling warmly.

Rey snorts and rolls her eyes. “If that’s true, why does Leia think that you and Ben are in love? If that’s true, how can you possibly marry another? If that’s true, how can you even consider letting Ben _claim_ you,” Rey’s voice breaks harshly at the end of her statement. She wants to believe the Omega’s words, desperately, but she’s all too aware of how cruel reality can be when it comes to people hurting her.

_stayawayfrommyAlpha_

She’s suddenly aware of Finn’s hand squeezing her on the knee—hard. She was snarling at Valerie again.

“I’m getting a bit ahead of myself; I need to start at the beginning. Will you promise to hear me out, Rey?” Valerie pleads.

“We’ve already heard her story. We think you need to hear it too,” Poe says, nodding at Valerie. Finn nods in agreement too.

“We only have an hour, maybe 1.5 tops, before Ben gets here, so we really need to get started,” Paige chimes in gently.

Rey stops breathing, her heart hammering harder in her chest. She turns to blink owlishly at Finn, begging with her eyes for Paige to be wrong.

“Trust me, Rey,” Finn murmurs with a squeeze on her knee. She turns to Valerie and gives a curt nod. Might as well rip off the band-aid now.

Valerie nods, inhaling deeply and wiping her palms on her jeans. Paige moves a hand to her mate’s back and begins rubbing circles into her back as Valerie calmly, to the point of appearing detached, shares the horrors of her life with Snoke.

“I know what Leia told you about my origins, but that’s a lie my father and his goons perpetuate, because the truth flies in the face of what Snoke has become. And the truth is, my parents were married and deeply in love when I was born. My father has never been a good man, but my mother was a tempering force in his life and she balanced his rougher tendencies. She died of pancreatic cancer when I was 8. It was sudden. She was diagnosed one day and dead within 6 months. My father was devastated, and everything changed. I have the misfortune of looking exactly like my mother and my father couldn’t handle being around me for long periods of time, so he became a ghost in my world, an abstract idea more than a flesh-and-blood father. It was like both of my parents died at the same time, and in a way, it’s true. Snoke is not the father I knew before my mother died.”

Rey feels a flutter sympathy take root in her chest, because she recognizes the sadness in Valerie’s eyes. Rey lost her parents and she understands what that loss feels like, how it gives someone a sense of “otherness” that never truly goes away.

“I was desperate for my father’s attention and love. So, two years after my mother’s death, when he suddenly asked the nanny to dress me up in preparation for a ‘field trip’ with him, I was overjoyed. I promised to be good and do whatever he asked, because I thought if I did that, maybe he would want to be in my life again. That first outing was to a brunch at the golf club we belong to. We were ushered into a private dining hall where my father’s associates, all Alphas, were already seated. I was made to stand next to my father at the head of the table. He then told me the rules I was to follow: no eye contact with anyone in the room, no talking, no eating, and to remain as still as possible.”

Valerie pauses to take a sip of her drink as Paige leans over to whisper in her ear. The pair share another meaningful glance and Rey is struck by how easily these two communicate without words. She takes a hard look at their body language—noting how closely they are seated, their knees angled in each other’s direction, the familiarity in their touch. Everything about this pair and their interactions screams “mate”. Rey shakes her head slightly. How could Leia have gotten her information so wrong? Assuming what Valerie is telling her about being mated to Paige is true. She’s still not sure. Ben’s scent is faint, but it’s definitely present on the Omega sitting across from her; proximity aiding her sense of smell now.

“I wasn’t allowed to attend public school or participate in group activities of any kind. Nannies raised me, tutors educated me, and private coaches taught me dance, the only activity my father deemed appropriate for an Omega. Even my college degree is from an online school. But there is one aspect of my education that my father controlled, and that was teaching me my place as a ‘good Omega’ in an Alpha world. In _his_ Alpha world. I was to be seen, not heard. Admired for my physical beauty, not my brains. He and his men would discuss me as if I weren’t present. They would say demeaning things, disgusting things and my father would make me say ‘thank you’ in response,” Valerie shivers noticeably at the memory.

“This became a weekly ritual and it was the only time my father interacted with me. It took a couple of months for me to stop crying during these meetings. If I was good, he would shower me with praises on the car ride home, even stop for ice cream on occasion. He was a thorough and skillful educator. It didn’t take long for me to consider all of this as normal and beneficial. I was getting time with my father, and he would tell me he loved me if I was good. It was everything I thought I needed and I didn’t question it. I know now that he was grooming me, but at the time, I thought my father loved me and wanted me to learn everything needed to be a good and proper Omega.”

“I presented at the age of 12, which sounds early but is normal for pure Omegas. Of course, my father had very specific ideas of how to handle my designation. I was not permitted to take suppressants, and I was not permitted to have anything or anyone to help ease my heats. And a pure Omega off suppressants goes into heat every 6-9 weeks; for me it was every 7. When the time came, my father would have me locked in the attic by a team of Betas. The room was soundproofed, stocked with food and water, a bed, and a fresh pile of linens to build my nest. That was it. It was 3 days of pure hell, after which his medical team would sedate me as they hooked me up to IVs to rehydrate me and reverse the malnutrition. He never provided enough food and water, and I used to think it was because he didn’t want me to get fat, but now I know it was out of pure malice. Have you ever been through a heat alone?” Her eyes pierce Rey’s as she nods.

“For a couple of days, one time. I thought I was going to go insane,” Rey answers around the lump in her throat. Tears threaten to spill from her eyes.

“I’m sorry,” the blonde Omega says sincerely. She and Rey share a moment of solidarity before Rey averts her eyes. The naked vulnerability in the other woman’s eyes is overwhelming to a person so accustomed to hiding her every emotion, even from herself.

“Snoke insisted on continuing the weekly meeting ritual even after my presentation. He relished dangling me in front of a pack of salivating Alphas as I approached my heat. He would go out of his way to schedule these things on the eve of every one of my heats. The bastard kept a calendar of my cycle,” she snarls. “It was as much about controlling them as it was me. Snoke worships at the altar of his control over other people, and he will tolerate nothing less than full submission. One Alpha tried to grab me when I was 14. My father’s security team killed him instantly. No one ever tried to touch me again after that. It was the first time my father killed over me. It was not the last,” she ends in a whisper. And now she nods along with whatever Paige whispers in her ear, white knuckling her grip on her mate’s hands.

“This next part is difficult for me, please bear with me. I’m going to try to get through it without a break,” she explains.

“Please take your time. Don’t push yourself on my account,” Rey assures her in a rush. Valerie smiles tightly, her eyes strained with emotion.

“I started ‘dating’ my first girlfriend when I was 17. She was the daughter of our groundskeeper, working over the summer with her Dad. Her name was Shelly, she was 16. I thought I was head-over-heels in love, though it only lasted a few weeks. They were the last weeks I knew any happiness until I met Ben,” she says. Rey can’t help it, she tenses visibly at the sound of his name on the lips of this Omega.

“My father came home from one of his business trips two days early, quite unexpectedly. He’d never done that before. He’d also never set foot in my room before either. I suspect a disgruntled servant tipped him off. He stormed into my room, face red with rage at catching his prize Omega daughter in bed with another girl. My father rarely raises his voice, he prefers to speak softly and force people to listen closely. But he raged at me as we scrambled to get dressed while he watched. The groundskeeper was fired on the spot, as were several other servants. Shelly died in a freak car accident not even a week later. My father denies he had anything to do with it, but I know he had her killed as part of my punishment. My greatest shame is that I spent years after Shelly’s death being jealous of her, because she was dead, her punishment was over, while mine continued in a never-ending loop of humiliation and degradation,” she chokes on a sob, but holds her tears at bay. After a moment, she continues. Rey’s stomach is twisting in knots and she hopes this story isn’t going where she thinks it’s going.

***

“I was about a day into the first heat that followed Shelly’s death when the door to the attic opened. At first, I thought I was lost in the delirium of my heat, because the door never opens until the end of day 3. My father walked into the room and he apologized to me for neglecting an important part of my Omega training. He told me how he had thought through the best approach to this particular aspect of my education and arrived at a brilliant solution. He then waved in an Alpha I recognized from the meetings I was forced to attend. Apparently, this Alpha was proving to be an especially loyal and productive part of my father’s network, and he wanted to treat him to a special reward,” Valerie explains as her face settles into a blank mask devoid of emotion.

“I was the reward, and I wasn’t in my right mind to protest. I never fought back or tried to stop any of them, but after every heat in which one of my father’s Alphas took me, I hated myself. I hated my father for abusing me and not protecting me the way a father should; I hated the Alphas for raping me; most of all I hated myself because I never wanted to fight them off in the moment. My father boasted that he made sure each Alpha was clean and had them sign an ironclad legal agreement not to claim me. For all my father’s posturing on the claiming laws, he was protective of me. It didn’t suit his grand plan to have me claimed before I had served my purpose. These men were not to cause permanent injury or leave visible marks not hidden by my clothing; otherwise, they were free to do with me what they wanted. You see, my value to my father lies in remaining unclaimed, not unmounted,” she says, her voice wavering only slightly.

“Snoke was sinister in his approach. He enjoys the psychological aspects of control just as much as the physical. I wasn’t offered up on every heat. He liked to toy with me, teasing that this heat could be the one where I get an Alpha, only to leave me to cower in fear alone for 3 days. You would think those heats spent alone would be a blessing compared to the other kind, but they weren’t. I now knew how much easier a heat could be with relief from an Alpha. Eventually, I found myself hoping for an Alpha each time I went into the attic. A few times I even broke down and begged my father to send in an Alpha before making my way to the attic. It was humiliating, begging on my knees to be raped by some unknown man loyal to my father. This went on for 6 years before I met Ben.”

***

Rey doesn’t know how Valerie has the strength to speak, because she herself is a sobbing and hiccuping mess of tears and snot. Rey’s life hasn’t been easy, but she can’t fathom the pain this woman has suffered at the behest of her own father. Snoke was more evil and disgusting than she could ever imagine. Her heart breaks for Valerie. Without hesitation, she crosses the room to kneel in front of Valerie and sweep her into a hug.

Without intending to, Rey’s head ends up on the side of Valerie’s scent gland. This close to the delicate gland, she can’t help but smell Ben on her. She inhales deeply, her body craving more of his scent even as she hates herself for doing it. As she does, the back of her neck begins to prickle, and her body goes rigid. Before she knows it, Finn and Poe are pulling her away from the Omega and holding her on the loveseat. She’s not snarling or growling, and she wasn’t hurting Valerie. Their reaction is confusing, but the scent she just smelled on the scent gland is even more confusing, because it doesn’t align with the picture Valerie is painting. The look of guilt on the Omega’s face only solidifying Rey’s fear.

“Why does your scent gland smell like Ben’s cum?” She spits, rage bubbling up from within like it did at the bar the night before. How dare Valerie tell such disgusting and atrocious lies to gain sympathy for her part in Rey’s heartbreak. For Rey’s emotions flip back to disbelief at the story being fed to her and she doesn’t like being manipulated.

“I will explain in a moment, I promise, but trust me—”

Rey snorts. “Answer the question, Omega,” she demands in her strongest tone.

“Rey, I love you, but that is enough,” Finn yells into her ear as she flinches away. “Let her tell her story her way.”

Suitably cowed by her best friend’s anger, Rey relaxes in his grip and nods at Valerie to continue.

“I wish you hadn’t of hugged me, Rey, because this next part is going to be especially difficult for you to hear.” And that gets Rey’s attention.

“Best to get this part over with fast, my love. Ben will be here soon,” Paige murmurs gently.

Valerie sighs deeply. “About two years ago, Ben was named CFO of The First Order after only two years with the company. Snoke is very fond of Ben in the only way he knows how to relate emotionally—in that Ben is just as much a part of the bigger plan as I am in Snoke’s empire. Pillow talk is a powerful weapon and I learned over the years how to manipulate the Alphas into revealing bits and pieces of their part in my father’s empire. I could never get the whole picture, but it was enough to know that what Snoke is planning is bigger than a fight over claiming laws. But we can discuss more of that later.”

“Val, sweetie,” Paige whispers.

“Ok, ok,” Valerie responds under her breath.

“I had seen Ben at the gatherings off and on for two years. He was always quiet, brooding. Kept himself apart from the other Alphas, never joining in on the jokes said at my expense. There was one guy, his name is Hux, who was especially degrading in his comments to me. One day, Ben knocked him out with one punch to the jaw after Hux drunkenly shouted at me to get on all fours and present myself like the good bitch I am. My father merely laughed at Hux, but the moment Ben attacked, his entire demeanor shifted. He was looking at Ben, but I knew he was scheming inside; I recognized the cold calculation in his eyes.”

Finn suddenly wraps his arm around Rey’s back, jerking her into his side. Her body must be overwhelmed, because the discomfort she’s come to expect with contact barely registers. Poe hesitantly places a hand on her knee where the leggings still cover her skin. That stings a bit more than Finn’s contact, but it’s manageable. It occurs to her that the guys are holding her up and in place. Her stomach drops. Whatever Valerie is about to say is bad; and how could it possibly get any worse than what she’s already shared?

“After that meeting, the next time I saw Ben, he was walking through the attic door.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big hugs to all of my readers. If it helps, I cried while writing this, especially that last line. The next chapter is still going to hurt, but it starts to get better towards the end. 
> 
> For those that skipped the *** marked section: Snoke punishes Valerie by sending in Alphas when she's in heat and not in her right mind to say no. He ups the ante on this abuse by alternating which heats he sends in an Alpha for, so Valerie never knows when it will happen. These Alphas are not allowed to claim her, punishable by death.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If you're still reading, thank you. This chapter starts off hard, but gets better. I know I keep promising that it will get better, but it's actually happening. I wrote all three of tonight's post as one, but it was massive. And emotional. So I divided it in a way that, I hope, makes it easier to digest.   
> Warnings for this chapter: some of the discussion is going to get a bit delicate when it comes to explaining Ben and Valerie's time "together." There will be a brief, single line mention of another character's rape that took place before this fic.
> 
> I am terrified y'all are going to hate me. *Please don't hate me.*

“After that meeting, the next time I saw Ben, he was walking through the attic door.”

“No,” Rey shouts, fighting against the hold her friends had on her limbs.

And for the first time since she started her story, Valerie begins to cry. Everyone is crying, Rey sees as she frantically looks from person to person, trying to find some evidence of dishonesty in what Valerie is implying. It’s one thing to work for a company hellbent on keeping Omegas from asserting their rights, it is another to be beastly enough to participate in the debauchery Snoke seems to encourage. She thinks back to Leia telling her how Snoke encouraged Ben to give into his animal instincts. The Ben from her childhood wouldn’t do what Valerie is implying. He wouldn’t. He couldn’t.

“No. No, Ben couldn’t do something like _that_ ,” she insists plaintively.

“You’re right, Rey,” Valerie asserts, and Rey sighs with relief.

“He couldn’t, so I made him do it,” Valerie reveals, guilt falling from her eyes in the form of tears. “I made him do it, because if he didn’t, my father would have killed me; possibly Ben too.”

“No. You said you had to serve your purpose. Killing you makes no sense, based on what you’ve said. You’re lying,” Rey roars.

“Rey, nothing about what my father does makes sense. I know only this for certain: he is loyal to his own power, not plans. He changes loyalties in all other things as swiftly as a river flows, so long as it feeds his appetite for power. Part of what makes him so successful is his willingness to abandon one plan in favor of another so long as he gets what he wants in the end. I said it before, Snoke tolerates nothing but complete submission. Any hint that he’s losing his hold on a person and he will cut them down. No quarter, not even for his daughter or Ben.”

Rey doesn’t want that explanation to make sense, but it does. She sags into the couch, wishing she could will herself to be numb, to feel nothing.

“You have to understand, I had gone through 3 consecutive heats without an Alpha before Ben. I was half-crazed within a couple of hours into that heat. And it was programmed into me for years that any deviation from my father’s expectations meant death. I was trapped, Rey. We both were. He resisted me—”

“Please stop.”

“He resisted me,” Valerie charges forward with her story firmly.

"Stop!"

“I know this is hard for you, Peanut, but let her finish the story. It will be ok,” Finn offers consolingly. Rey stares in disbelief at her friend. How could he think anything will be ok after what Valerie just revealed?

“Ben resisted me for several hours. I honestly don’t know how because his rut was triggered within the first hour. I finally got him to understand how dire our situation would be if he didn’t do what was expected with me. He figured out a way to do what was necessary without fully abandoning his convictions. These details are private and painful, but you need to know a few things about our time together in the attic. He never knotted me. Not once, not even close. He maintained control of himself the entire time. He would finish inside me to help ease my heat, but he never touched me beyond that. I would rub his scent into my skin the way the other Alphas would do once they spilled out of me.” A part of Rey, the part that seems to react strangely whenever she gets too close to Valerie, cheers triumphantly. Ben didn’t knot another Omega, just as he told her, and if that wasn’t lie, maybe the rest of what he promised was true.

“We spent a lot of time talking with each other over the next few days. For the first time in my life, I felt like I could trust another person. I was shocked it was an Alpha, but stranger things have happened. Ben treated me like an equal, like a person of value and not just an Omega to be mounted and claimed. So, I told him everything I have shared with you today, including the bits and pieces about my father’s schemes. Ben told me all about you. He told me about the three years you spent together as friends when he was younger. And he told me that you were The One for him and he hated that he had wasted so much time away from you. All of that is his story to share with you, and I respect that. Just know that he has… cared about you for a long time. He’s doing all of this to right his wrongs against Omegas, so he can come to you a clean and redeemed soul,” she says with a soft smile.

Rey whines softly at this revelation.

“We’re running out of time, Val,” Paige says urgently.

“Right. There’s so much more to tell you, Rey. I hope we can sit down and talk together again after you’ve spoken with Ben. I need to tell you a few more things before he gets here. This is important,” she asserts, leaning forward in her seat. Her tears have dried and her eyes burn fiercely.

“ _I_ am the spark that will ignite the fire that will burn my father to the ground. _I_ am the enemy he doesn’t see coming. All of this is _my_ plan, _my_ doing. Not Leia’s. Not Ben’s. I can’t get into detail about that now but trust me. We hid the truth of it from Leia to protect my privacy, to save our dignity and protect ourselves from what we had to do to survive my father. Leia can’t know how we met or how we came up with this mission. Leia doesn’t know about my life or what my upbringing entailed. None of it is known to the Rebel Alliance or the government agencies tied up in this whole mess. I intend to keep it that way. My abuse is nobody’s business.”

Rey nods her understanding. She wouldn’t dream of revealing any of this to anyone. She’s still unsure how she feels about Valerie, but she has Rey’s loyalty in this aspect.

“Ben and I are not intimate together, we haven’t been since we left the attic. We naively thought we could fool my father with scenting alone, but he picked up on the difference in Ben’s scent on me compared to how I smelled after the attic. Around the time that happened, I met Paige. She has been instrumental in how this works. To put it bluntly: Ben would give a fresh sample to Paige, and Paige would apply it as necessary to ease my heat and scent me. Paige alone takes care of the other aspects of my heat,” she says with a smile, turning to Paige and squeezing her knee affectionately.

“It’s true. Ben doesn’t go anywhere near Val during her heats anymore. The only touching they do is the minimal affection they must show in public together,” Paige assures her.

“I can count on one hand the number of times he’s kissed me on the lips,” Valerie offers with a soft giggle. And for whatever bizarre reason, that soothes Rey and she smiles for the first time today.

“I can’t,” she chimes arrogantly. Everyone seems to hold their breath for a moment, trying to decide if she’s joking or not before the room erupts with laughter. Rey realizes only now just how tense they have all been. Poor Rose having been silent this entire time.

“Lastly, and most importantly for you, I want you to know that there will be a wedding and Ben will claim me, but the marriage won’t be valid legally—Ben can explain that detail. The claiming is a favor for me, something I am asking him to do. It helps to give the impression of a legal wedding and will satisfy my father’s plan in ‘trapping’ the heir to the Skywalker fortune and business holdings. Paige, show Rey your neck, please.”

Paige scoots forward on the couch, bringing her hands up to sweep her hair to one side and twists her neck to display her scent gland. Her badly scarred scent gland. Rey winces at the same time the guys hiss and cringe beside her.

“I was raped and claimed when I had a breakthrough heat 3 years ago. I was new at my job and didn’t have insurance yet, and public clinics everywhere were out of stock on suppressants due to strikes at the processing plants.” Yes, Rey recalls that debacle and the subsequent investigation, though nothing came of it that she can recall. Luckily, Rey was still in college at the time and they are considered a top priority for government rations in suppressant shortages.

“I couldn’t take the time off work, or I wouldn’t be able to pay rent. It had only just started so, I hoped for the best and left for work. I was attacked before I got one block down my street. The cops didn’t bother to meet me at the hospital. No rape kit was performed because I was in heat. When I tried to open an investigation to catch the guy, the officers just laughed at me and told me to go home.”

Valerie’s expression turns dark. “Omegas who mate with other Omegas are limited in their means to ward off rapes and claims from Alphas. We must resort to medical claiming, which is costly because it’s not covered by any insurance companies, it’s dangerous, and has a ridiculously high failure rate. There’s a thriving black market for Alphas to provide the service, but that is even more dangerous. Many Omegas end up lost to human trafficking that way. Some lucky Omegas find Alphas willing to claim them but not mount them, but even that is tricky, because most Alphas lack the self-restraint necessary to not mount during a claiming; the two acts are intrinsically linked together. It’s basic biology.”

Suddenly it clicks for Rey. “You want Ben to claim you because he has the restraint to not mount you.”

“Exactly. I can afford the medical claiming procedure, but my father would kill me. The only way to protect myself long-term is for an Alpha to claim me. None of the Alphas sent in during my heats could do it, or my father would kill them. I needed to find an alternative solution. Ben presented the perfect opportunity. It ticks off so many boxes in terms of fooling my father about our marriage and giving me protection.”

Rey frowns. “But why not wait until after the fake wedding and have the medical one done? Why bother with the fake wedding to begin with? I don’t understand why this has to be so complicated,” she wails.

“I know, Rey. I understand. There’s still a lot to explain to you, but the rest of it is Ben’s responsibility. I want you to know that the claiming means nothing to us in terms of being mates. I am already mated. And Ben… well, he needs to explain his side. I do have one more thing, and I promise this is the last one for today. Ben didn’t tell you any of this during your heat because I asked him not to. I thought it would be wisest not to upset you during a breakthrough heat. Those are a bitch in and of themselves. We wanted to be able to explain everything together, when you were in your right mind and not bogged down by hormones. He wanted to tell you, he really did. He called me after he talked to Leia, on his way to your place.”

This information takes a minute to soak in, for Rey’s head is swimming with the massive—and emotional—data dump Valerie just unloaded. Before she can come to an emotional conclusion, someone begins pounding on the front door. And they’re not stopping.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still with me? Whew! The next chapter is basically smut. Emotional, hot, sweet, smut.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Have some smut, my dear readers. You've earned it if you're still reading this fic.

“Ben’s here,” everyone who’s not Rey says in unison. They decide it is best—safest—for Paige to let Ben in the door. Rey just sits frozen on the couch, her insides a riot of panic, confusion and, oddly enough, desire.

She feels the moment Ben enters the living room. She could be blindfolded and have her ears plugged and she would still know the exact moment he entered her presence. Without looking up, she knows he’s looking right at her.

“I’ve told her all of the important parts we discussed. There’s still a lot of gaps to fill, but she knows the important information now. Be patient, Ben. It’s a lot to process and we only just finished before you knocked on the door,” Valerie explains. And the dark part of Rey rears its ugly ahead again at the familiarity and authority with which Valerie addresses Ben. Her opinion of Valerie has shifted dramatically over the course of their discussion, but one thing remains clear.

_STAYAWAYFROMMYALPHA_

Rey doesn’t like how much control Valerie clearly has over Ben. Just like her father. Her father… Snoke. The man who prostituted his own daughter to punish her for being attracted to women and not men. She shakes her head, breathing deeply, and the moment passes as Ben’s intoxicating scent floods her nervous system.

Much like what happened at the marathon, Rey’s body moves of its own accord to place her in closer proximity to Ben. She blinks up at him, eyes wide. They’ve been apart less than a week, but so much has changed that it might as well have been a lifetime. Rey hasn’t had time to distill the emotions of the past hour or so, but her body doesn’t care. And Rey is so, so, so tired of thinking. She’s done too much thinking. What she chooses to focus on from Valerie is that Ben is not the bad guy she thought him to be. He’s not in love with Valerie. He’s not truly getting married. Leia was wrong, and Ben didn’t lie to her in the Heat Tent, not really. There’s still the claiming issue and the failure to communicate, because she doesn’t care if Valerie told him not to tell her, he damn well should have told her.

Without warning, Rey slaps Ben solidly across his face, the resounding whacking sound ricocheting in the silence as everyone waits with baited breath. They’re both panting, chests heaving, pupils dilated. Ben’s wavy hair drapes over one eye, having been knocked out of place with the momentum of her slap.

“Do it,” he goads her in a husky voice that goes straight to her core.

She slaps him again.

“Again,” he husks. His pupils have bled so far into his irises that his eyes look black. Something shifts between them, a pulse that seems to reverberate through her body.

“No,” she tells him firmly.

“I deserve it,” he murmurs down to her as he steps closer and closes the gap. They’re not touching yet, but she can feel the energy between them, drawing them together.

“Make it stop hurting, Alpha,” she whispers pleadingly. He inhales sharply.

Slowly, making sure her intent is clear to Ben, she turns her back to him and sinks down to the floor in front to kneel on her knees, rear end resting on her heels, and her front resting on her elbows. With hands shaking with desire she sweeps her hair to the side to reveal her throbbing scent gland. She extends her neck in submission, whining softly. She needs Ben to make it better, to make everything stop hurting. She needs to know that she is the only Omega to take his knot, that she is the only Omega he desires. She needs him to fuck her deep and hard, to bury his knot in her body, fill her with his cum, and keep her body warm with his body as he whispers his adoration and love into her ear.

_pleasetakemeAlpha_

_illbegoodforyouAlpha_

_letmepleaseyouAlpha_

Rey can’t explain how, but she feels it in her bones that he hears her, someway, somehow. She knows she makes a pretty picture right now: her back bowed gracefully as she kneels in perfect submission with her neck exposed. Her Alpha didn’t stand a snowball’s chance in hell at resisting.

“Leave us!” Ben barks forcefully. At his feet, Rey shivers. Ben can resist Valerie, but he can’t resist her; she alone is the only Omega to wield this power over Ben. The realization leaves her feeling drunk with power and she smirks into the living room floor. She may be the one on the ground in submission, but she holds all the power in this moment. And she knows Valerie knows. Rey’s practically purring with pleasure as the others scramble to clear out of the house.

“But it’s our house,” Finn whines in protest.

“When the Sasquatch Alpha tells you to leave because he’s about to fuck the Omega right outta Rey, you leave,” Poe responds. She can hear the smirk in his voice.

“Faster!” Her Alpha is impatient.

“I know a great deli nearby, if anyone wants to grab a bite to eat,” Rose chimes brightly. It’s the first time she’s spoken that Rey can recall.

“Yes, but they better have Cheetos. Let me grab my chopsticks right quick, I hate getting cheese du—”

“I will kill you, Dameron,” Ben spits. There’s a squeak—most likely from Finn—followed by shuffling footsteps before she hears the front door slam shut.

Ben doesn’t waste a second. She feels the air move a split second before he envelopes her body with his and her skin is alight with pleasurable sensation. She moans loudly, because just this contact alone takes her right to the edge. He latches his warm mouth onto her scent gland and sucks, hard. Her climax hits her fast and furious, her hips jerking back as her cunt clenches rhythmically around nothing. Rey is left breathless in its wake, shocked by how quickly and easily she fell apart for him.

Ben grinds his erection into her back as his mouth continues to work her gland. Only when he feels her completely relax does he break from her neck with a loud pop.

“I’m sorry, Rey,” he whispers directly into her ear.

“Make it up to me, _Alpha_ ,” she says, pushing back with her hips suggestively. Ben groans above her as his hips buck into her sharply.

“What does my Omega command,” he asks in that deep, whiskey-soaked voice that does _things_ to her.

“You will fuck me, hard. You will knot me, and you will fill me with your cum. I need your cum inside me,” she purrs. He doesn’t answer verbally. Instead, he jerks back onto his haunches, reaches for the waist of her leggings with both hands, and rips the thin material to shreds. Her core bears down as her slick slides into her underwear. He treats that item in the same fashion as the leggings. Rey doesn’t care.

He pulls her upright, so he can yank her sweatshirt over her head, tossing it… somewhere. He places the palm of one hand firmly on her back, his hand practically spanning the width of her back, and gently pushes her back down onto her elbows. She hears the sound of clothes rustling behind her, a curse muttered, then another, and then his big, warm body is covering hers again. There’s too much their bodies need to say to deal with foreplay, so Ben positions her hips just so and sheaths himself inside her to the hilt in one thrust. They moan, long and low, in unison.

“I’m sorry,” he pants as he pulls out to the bulging head of his cock before rocking back into her, his hips meeting hers with a slap. He braces himself on one arm, wrapping the other around her waist to angle his hand down to her clit. The first brush of his fingers over her sensitive sex has her crying out in ecstasy. Only her Alpha can make her feel this good.

“I’m sorry,” he pants again as he rocks into her. Sweat begins to trickle where skin rubs against skin along her back, because his chest is pressed tightly into her, leaving no part of her body uncovered by his. He’s moaning and panting in her ear, whispering “I’m sorry” with each thrust into her body. She moves with him, her breathy moans joining his as they move as one, their bodies becoming a sweaty blur of motion as Ben’s pace increases. His fingers swirl around her clit faster as he increases the pressure, sending a knife-sharp wave of pleasure through her body. He’s marching her steadily to another climax and she is so close, the warmth pooling in her abdomen threatening to break the dam.

“Please,” he coos brokenly into her ear and that causes her to rhythm to falter in confusion. “Please come for me, my sweet Omega. I need you to come for me, please.” He’s pleading with her and understanding dawns bright in her mind. This is more than just pleasure. This is more than just letting their bodies speak the emotions they can’t verbalize right now.

He’s seeking absolution. And maybe she shouldn’t give it to him; they haven’t discussed anything yet. There’s still his side of the story to be told. But she wants to give it to him, more than anything on this plane of existence. He needs to know they’re going to be alright and their bodies can’t lie to each other.

Rey grinds back into his thrusts, lifting herself up from her elbows to gain more traction. Ben arches up to allow her room to move, gripping her firmly about her waist with both hands. He’s holding onto her like she’s his life raft in a stormy sea. She grits her teeth and fucks herself back onto his cock, her head thrown back as she keens for her Alpha. He alternates between “I’m sorry” and “please” as he thrusts into her movement, his cock sinking so deep she can almost taste it in her throat. His knot is starting to catch with each thrust and she knows he’s close. She reaches down with one hand, balancing on the other hand with Ben holding her hips in place, and furiously rubs her clit.

He gives one last hard thrust and buries his knot deep into her cunt with a hoarse cry. The added pressure of the expanding knot on that spongy spot of her inner wall sends her careening into a powerful climax. She hangs suspended there, in the midst of that white-hot burst of pleasure before it seems to contract in on itself and then explodes more violently than the first time. It sends a pulsing shockwave through her body as she shudders with pleasure. Above her, Ben grunts in time with his pulsing cock as he spills himself inside her, her inner walls milking his knot greedily for every drop of his cum.

It’s only after Ben has maneuvered them onto their sides, his large body curled around her smaller one, that she realizes she’s been crying. The quiet sniffle she hears behind her tells her Ben is crying too. He’s trembling around her, from exertion or emotion, she’s not sure. He nuzzles into her hair, kissing the top of her head chastely before tucking her under his chin. Ben’s breathing slows to a deep, even pace and she knows he’s fallen asleep. With her head resting on his arm she lets her brain goes fuzzy with sleep as she marvels at how well their bodies fit together, like a puzzle. Like they were made specifically for each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did that work for you? We all needed it, but I worry it was too soon after what Valerie had to say. But it's ABO and they are an OTP and things happen.
> 
> If it isn't obvious by now, this isn't a fluffy, smutty one-shot that turned into a cute story kind of fic anymore. The rest is plotted out. It will take a bit to iron out all of the angst presented thus far. There are still some bumps in the road for Reylo, but if you've trusted me this far... the ending is going to be so fucking happy. So happy. I promise.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here, have roughly 8,500 more words that will probably make you still hate me. In my AU, Ben is only 4 years older than Rey. Also in my AU, Alphas first rut is triggered when they reach the right age. All ruts after that are triggered by heats. Heats and ruts increase the motivation for sex, but it's not the only time people want to have sex, if that makes sense.
> 
> Brevity? I don't know her. *sliding on sunglasses as I shake my head*
> 
> More revelations are had and Rey and Ben end on a somewhat stable, healthy, almost happy note. Then Poe decides to unleash 4 years of pent up emotions on Rey regarding her activities with Finn. It doesn't end well.
> 
> TW: A few more non-explicit details will be revealed regarding Valerie's abuse. There are some kinda explicit, but not really, details revealed that are entirely relevant to Ben, so I stand by my decision. Also, there will be implied physical abuse against Valerie by Hux revealed, but it's brief and no details are given whatsoever. Adult language abounds when people get emotional.

Rey wakes up sometime later, still naked on the floor, but covered with a blanket. Ben’s no longer connected to her, he’s not even next to her if his lack of body heat is any indication. Her traitorous heart lurches at the loss even as her head tells her it’s probably for the best. She has a headache from all the information thrown at her and she doesn’t know how she feels about any of it. Well, she knows how she feels about one thing: sleeping with Ben before talking was a mistake. If she’s entirely honest with herself, she did it to prove a point to Valerie, to assert her claim over her Alpha. That dark place inside her, the part she’s beginning to think is _her_ Alpha side, conspired with his delicious scent to overwhelm her system. She can’t blame Ben for it, because she was certainly willing and enthusiastic, but she wishes they had spent that time talking instead. She sighs deeply. How did things get so complicated, so fast?

“You’re awake,” Ben murmurs from somewhere to her right, startling her from her thoughts. She blinks up at the ceiling a moment before sitting up, clutching the blanket tightly against her body as she turns to face her Alpha. He’s crouching only a few feet away, redressed in his all black outfit, looking like a predator guarding its kill. _No_ , her brain amends, _like an Alpha guarding his Omega_.

She is not impressed.

Rey clears her throat, swallowing several times before finding her voice.

“Why are you still here?”

He furrows his brow quizzically. “I wasn’t going to just leave you after we…” His voice trails off, gesturing at her on the floor instead of using his words. Talking is clearly not Ben’s forte.

“You can’t leave someone you never had,” she retorts spitefully, gathering the blanket around herself as she tries to stand up from the floor as gracefully as possible. “Fucked. The word you’re looking for is fucked,” she sneers down at him where he’s still crouching on the ground. He’s still looking at the spot she was just in, grinding his jaw and curling his hands into tight fists. “And it was a mistake. This whole mess is one giant mistake.”

“That’s not fair,” he rumbles, rising to his full, and intimidating, height, but he makes no move toward her. He’s eyeing her warily, almost as if he were afraid. _Damn right, you should be afraid of me_ , Rey thinks.

She arches a brow at him haughtily. “Not fair? How dare you try to tell me what’s fair. I’ve learned an awful lot about you lately, Ben Solo. Things _you_ should have been the one to tell me, but instead I hear it from your mother, and your soon-to-be-fiancée. You knotted me and made promises to claim me, and all the while you were living with another woman who you have also promised to claim!”

She’s trying so hard not to cry, but her lower lip is trembling, and her eyes are watery. Ben’s staring at her, wordlessly, looking like a kicked puppy trying to figure out what it did wrong. She wants to slap that expression right off his stupid beautiful face.

“I think—”

“Don’t be so sure about that,” she snaps. Ben presses his plush lips tightly together, chest heaving as he inhales deeply.

“I think this will go better if you got dressed before we talk,” he intones, his voice neutral.

“Don’t tell me what to do just because you’re an Alpha!”

“Maker, Rey, I’m not telling you what to do!” Ben explodes, and there’s that Alpha anger he displayed in her apartment when he told her the Ben she knew was dead. The Ben standing in front of her now is certainly not the Ben she knew. So that’s two things he didn’t lie to her about, not that she’s going to give him any credit for it. A good Alpha doesn’t hurt his Omega by breaking her heart. A good Alpha takes care of his Omega. Against her will, her mind decides now is a good time to remind her just how well he cared for her during their 5 days together. How he washed her body gently, caressing her skin like she was precious to him; how eager he was to please her in bed over and over again; how well he kept her fed and hydrated. Her feet didn’t touch the ground for most of their time together.

He also failed to tell her about his supposed secret, stupid mission to “Save The Omegas At Any Cost!” by marrying and claiming another Omega, who seems to have too much control and authority over Ben for Rey’s comfort. So, as far as Rey is concerned, he’s in the negative on credits and sinking fast into the red. Take that, brain trying to soften her with her memories.

But he maybe has a point about getting dressed. She stomps around to pick up her shredded clothing.

“Oh, look,” she grins in mock humor as she dangles her ruined clothing in front of her,” you’ve torn my clothes apart to match my heart.” She waits a beat to bask in his wounded expression before striding down the hall to get dressed. Her body is sated from the sex they had earlier, but she knows they don’t have much time before the inevitable magnetic pull they seem to have on each other comes back to life. Rey quickly throws on a bulky blue sweater hoodie and jeans, twisting her hair up into a messy bun—not because she’s into trendy hairstyles, but because she’s in a hurry to get Ben out the door before she lets her hormones drive her to another mistake.

She grabs her phone off the nightstand as she walks back to the living room. Finn has texted a couple of times, asking how she’s doing and if she needs them to come home to help her with Sasquatch. She apologizes for being the worst house-guest ever and assures him she’s ok, that she and Ben are about to start talking. Finn and Poe have decided to join the girls for drinks, but he promises they’ll be home in a couple of hours. She frowns at her phone as she reads that last text, feeling more than a little territorial about her guys spending more time with Valerie.

When she returns to the living room she finds Ben sitting on the couch, two bottles of Gatorade set on the coffee table, on coasters. Rey decides that distance is going to be key in getting through whatever Ben has to say, so she scoots her drink to the other side and tries to ignore his tempting scent as she settles into the loveseat. He gulps down half his bottle before setting it back down on the coaster. His feet are turned in awkwardly and he keeps running his hands through his hair nervously. She takes a moment to look at him, really look at him, for the first time since he arrived.

He looks paler than he did last week, if that’s possible. There are dark shadows under his eyes that definitely weren’t there before. Her proud Alpha is hunched in on himself, making him look small. Perhaps she’s not the only one who has been suffering this week. _Good_ , the dark part of her crows with glee. But Rey can’t help feeling sorry for him at the same time. She grips the edge of the cushion beneath her to keep from launching herself at him for a hug. They both need a hug right now, but that kind of proximity is too risky.

“My parents sent me away to boarding school my senior year because they were worried about your safety. Han didn’t think it was normal or natural for a 17-year-old boy to be spending so much time with a girl barely in her teens. He seemed to think I would be like him, chasing tail however I could get it,” Ben scoffs with contempt. Rey remembers how volatile his relationship with his father has always been.

“He didn’t believe me when I said my intentions were honorable, that I was protecting you. Apparently, my mother found my book of poems, and it scared her how many of them were about you and my… feelings for you.” Ben swallows nervously, eyes fixed firmly on the Gatorade bottle on the table between them.

“Oh.” She can’t think of anything else to say because this is not how she thought this conversation was going to start. Then again, nothing has gone the way she thought it would and everything is upside down. She feels an unwanted kinship with poor Alice lost in Wonderland.

“From the moment I met you I knew you were my mate,” he declares with a conviction that calls to a part of her, deep down inside. A part of her that seems to calm the darker side. “And I know how creepy that sounds considering you were 10 and I was 14, but it wasn’t like that. I didn’t have… _urges_ for you until after I left, I swear,” he insists earnestly, his beautiful brown eyes shining with affection undiminished by time and circumstance.

“I felt it too. That’s why I promised myself to you the night before you left for boarding school. The night you left me crying on my porch with no way to contact you. And I never heard from you again.”

“I am so sorry, Rey. That’s not how I intended to leave things. I was going to come back,” he insists.

“But you didn’t Ben. You didn’t come back until now, 10 years later. And so much has happened since then, since just last week,” she challenges firmly. Her heart is thawing rapidly, but she must stay the course and remember why they are having this conversation in the first place.

“I know, and I can never make it up to you, but I’m hoping you will at least let me try, every day for the rest of my life,” he declares boldly. A little too boldly.

“ _I_ don’t make promises I can’t keep, Ben. Finish your story.” He flinches as if she had struck him and for a second, she thinks he’s going to cry. He clears his throat instead.

“I deserve that,” he says with a nod before continuing. “They sent me to a boarding school run by my Uncle Luke; it’s a school for ‘troubled teens’ up in New England. My uncle kept me at a distance, seemed almost afraid to acknowledge I was his nephew. He didn’t want to appear to be favoring me to the board of trustees because I was already showing signs of the angry Alpha temper people like to joke about and being torn away from you only made it worse. They took away my cellphone, my laptop, and limited my internet usage to supervised sessions at the school library. It was basically prison.”

“Leia said you met Snoke around that time. Is that true?”

Ben peers at her stoically before giving her a short nod. Rey hums softly in response.

“I had my first rut just before winter break. There was an Omega in several of my classes that seemed really interested in me, so I asked her to… _be with_ me during my rut,” Ben mumbles into his lap where his hands are now picking at the peeling label on the Gatorade bottle.

“It’s ok, Ben. I didn’t expect you were celibate the last 10 years. I wasn’t,” she says, and she can’t help how that last part comes out as a dig at his expense. “And again, the word you’re looking for is fuck.” Ok, that was definitely a dig, because that dark part of her is a tiny bit pissed to hear Ben talking about his sexual experiences.

_myAlphamyAlphamyAlpha_

But Ben doesn’t take the bait.

“When it came time to knot her, I couldn’t do it. I didn’t even want to try even though she was begging so prettily—”

“I said it was ok, but I don’t need the salacious details of your Alpha exploits,” she remarks frostily. She bats away the thought of how she compared Ben and Finn’s cocks the first time she and Ben were together. _Not the same thing_ , she reassures herself.

Ben nods as his neck flushes pink. She has the sudden urge to pull his hair back to see if his ears are turning red, too. His ears always used to turn red when he was embarrassed.

“I was humiliated at not being able to perform my most basic function as an Alpha. So, I began sleeping around. I figured eventually I would want to knot at least one of them. It became an obsession. I was determined to learn how to…uhm…pleasure girls in other ways to make up for my inability to knot. The Omegas were too embarrassed to admit they had been with an Alpha that didn’t want to knot them, so they began spreading rumors about how great I was in the sack, and it became a thing at school. It was a nightmare.”

“Totally,” she deadpans.

“It was a nightmare. None of them were you, Rey. I wanted them to be you so badly I could fucking taste it. I was angry and horny and lonely,” he snarls bitterly.

She bites her tongue over a snarky retort about him finally using the correct terminology. She’s too busy trying to quell the rage boiling inside her as she considers just how many girls Ben has been with. It’s for his own health that he not dwell on this too much longer.

“There was one Omega who was more angry than embarrassed that I wouldn’t knot her. She believed the rumors and thought I was deeming her unworthy. She tried to force herself onto my knot and I panicked. I couldn’t control it, it was an instinctual reflex. I pushed her away from me and she hit the wall against my bed at the right angle to break her nose. It was an accident, Rey. Please tell me you believe me,” he pleads, and now he really is crying.

“I believe you,” she answers, her voice ringing clearly in the space between them. And she does believe him. She’s learned a lot about Ben lately, but most of it paints the picture of a misguided knight willing to throw himself on his sword, not a man capable of beating a woman.

He relaxes noticeably at her response, heaving a sigh of relief as he wipes away as he dries his tears with the collar of his shirt.

“It became a matter of he said-she said, but there were more character witnesses to back me and she eventually changed her story. I had to reveal my shortcomings, to the entire board of trustees, which was painfully mortifying. They took a vote and it was decided that my record would remain clear, but I was to be expelled, two weeks before my senior graduation. I had to take summer school in order to graduate. My uncle made the deciding vote to expel me. He turned his back on me when I needed him most,” Ben rages, fists pounding into the couch cushions.

“My parents sided with my uncle. They’ve always been quick to believe the worst in me. I was able to stay at the dorms until I finished school, but then I was homeless and penniless. My parents cut me off financially. That’s when Snoke entered my life. The only reason Snoke was interested was because of my family name, but I didn’t care. Of course, I knew of him before this point. My mother has been fighting against him and his influence for decades. It seemed like the perfect way to hurt my family the most, to become Snoke’s apprentice.” His voice is dripping with derision at his choices.

Rey is beginning to hate Snoke even more than she already did after hearing Valerie’s horrific story. More and more Rey wants to hurt this evil man, to make him bleed for the damage he has done to Valerie and Ben, and now her.

“I took a year off school and partied hard all over the world. Snoke wined and dined me and gave me access to a glittering world of lavish lies and said it could be mine if I would only do what he said. And like the damn idiot I was, I agreed without hesitation. I did a lot of bad things that year. Things I don’t care to talk about right now.” Ben shudders.

“I eventually went to college and got my master’s in finance, just like Snoke wanted me to do. He paid for everything: my education, my lifestyle, everything. He brought me into The First Order right out of college and had me sign an airtight contract which essentially turned me into an indentured servant. He kept record of every penny he ever spent on me and now it was time to pay the piper. The number was in the millions, Rey. Certain responsibilities were worth more money off my debt and it sort of snowballed from there until one day I woke up and didn’t recognize myself because of how corrupt I had become. My signature is on documents contributing to all kinds of corporate criminal activity. Money laundering, tax evasion, mob involvement, bribery… you name it and Snoke’s doing it. Only he’s not really, because he’s using a vast network of people to do the dirty work for him. It’s nearly impossible to pin anything on the man. There are many federal agencies that have been trying for years.”

“Is this the part where you tell me how marrying and claiming Valerie is going to magically take down this vast network where these federal agencies have failed?” Rey asks bitterly.

“Did you listen to anything my mother or Val had to say?”

The use of that Omega’s nickname sets Rey’s hackles on edge. She doesn’t like the impression of intimacy and affection it gives when he calls her by that version of her name.

“Don’t call her that,” she growls, “Her name is Valerie.”

“Answer the question,” he orders softly. It’s not an Alpha command, but there’s no room to argue back.

“I did, and your plan sounds stupid,” she grouses.

Ben rolls his eyes. “Then you haven’t been listening. Snoke is the mob, the mob is Snoke. It’s not just about consent rights, Rey. He has his hands in politics—he has the majority whip in his back pocket and you have no idea how much policy Snoke has directly influenced. He has his hand in pharmaceuticals too. Those labor strikes that keep happening? That’s all Snoke. He’s willing to sabotage his own stake in big pharma if it will give him the hit he needs to prove a point, to remind us all just who is in control. He owns so-called ‘third party research’ facilities that skew data on drug trials, specifically suppressants, depending on how it fits Snoke’s agenda. He does it all through dummy holdings, off shore accounts, companies under the names of subordinates. I alone have my name attached to three such companies. There is no magically taking down Snoke, Rey. We will all burn down with him. This is _personal_ ,” Ben raves maniacally.

“Snoke makes you a willing participant in your own downfall and then uses it as leverage to jerk you around like a puppet. And like a fool, I fell for it hook, line, and sinker. My mother can’t live forever, and I am the sole heir to her family fortune and business holdings. And Snoke wants his claws in every bit of it. Not because he needs the money, because he doesn’t. But because he wants to beat my mother in any way he can. The man is a deranged psychopath playing the long game, Rey.”

Rey’s heart is thumping loudly in her chest. “I don’t understand… why?”

“Because he fell in love with an Omega and she had the nerve to die and leave him alone. He’s unbalanced, his mind has been twisted in grief. I know Val—Valerie told you about her parents. Snoke was building his empire long before his wife died, but it took a sinister turn after her death. This isn’t about limiting Omegas consent rights. Snoke doesn’t care one whit about it. This is his personal revenge against Omegas. This is about driving Omegas to extinction,” Ben states roughly, his voice cracking on the last word.

“One man can’t do that, Ben. You sound crazy,” she exclaims after gaping at him for a minute in disbelief. This isn’t just complicated, she realizes, this is downright insane and terrifying. If what he says is true, they are all in way over their heads. Realization dawns fast and furious that lives are at stake here, not just a political movement.

“One man can with the network of goons Snoke has built over the last 20 years. We still don’t know all of it, but he has promised to turn it all over to me once I’m a part of his family. He believes his hold on me to be absolute and he trusts me to see his vision through. The man is dying, Rey, and he’s getting desperate.”

“But if you know this much just turn it over to the CIA or something! Why does this have to be so complicated? Why do you have to marry her? Why do you have to _claim_ her? Why is any of this _your_ responsibility?” Rey’s voice breaks, tears falling once again. She’s terrified of losing Ben before she ever really had him, because now it looks like she will either lose him to Valerie or lose him to Snoke.

“We are working with the CIA through Rebel Alliance’s connections. When I called my mother two years ago it was with the knowledge that taking Snoke down meant I would go down with him. I’m in too deep, Rey. My mother and Valerie managed to broker a deal with them to give me immunity in exchange for my help, but only if I see it through to the end. This mission is mostly Valerie’s scheme—this is deeply personal for her for obvious reasons—but it has been sanctioned by everyone involved. If I don’t follow it to the letter, my deal is off,” he rasps, eye burning feverishly into hers to make her understand.

“I’m doing this to clean my hands of what I did during my time with Snoke, of what I have done to Omegas like you at his encouragement. I’m doing this, so we can have a future together, Rey. I’m doing this for you.” And she can see how he thinks he’s doing the right thing, the gallant thing to right his wrongs.

“You big fucking dumb Alpha,” she seethes. He can’t hide his shock at her reaction. “I didn’t ask you for any of this! I didn’t ask you to save me, because I don’t need saving. You are hiding behind this idea of me, so you can turn a blind eye to how Valerie is manipulating you for her own personal gain. She’s exactly like her father.”

“She is _nothing_ like her father. You can be mad at me all you want, I deserve it, but don’t you dare talk about Valerie like that,” he grits through clenched teeth. Oh. Oh, this idiot. That was entirely the wrong thing to say. Rey’s fear and anger smother her better judgement and unleash their fury.

“There you go again, choosing _her_ over _me_ ,” she accuses. “You said you have to follow a sanctioned mission. Then change the fucking mission! If he’s dying they can just wait it out. He can’t drive Omegas into extinction overnight. I feel bad for Valerie and what she has been through, truly, but I don’t see why it has to be done this way.”

Ben leans forward to rest his elbows on his knees and cover his face with hands. “You think I’m the only contender to take over? If it’s not me, it will be Hux. Look, Snoke has already set everything into motion. Alphas can claim Omegas in heat against their will. Snoke has pursued this to the political level to normalize it, because it reduces the pool of unclaimed Omegas breeding with Alphas, so long as the Omega didn’t get pregnant in the attack. Omegas are born of Alpha and Omega pairings only, and it’s rare for an Alpha to mate with a previously claimed Omega, whether it was against her will or not. The suppressant shortages, the research, the medicine—he’s cannibalizing the suppressant market and getting ready to raise prices far out of reach of most people. Omegas are on a severe decline, Rey. Even if my mother wins her fight for Omega rights, the process will be bogged down in legalities to pass for years and even then, the process to charge an Alpha will be arduous. Snoke is using our biology and instincts against us for his personal revenge. It’s beyond insane, but I contributed to it and I have to stop it. We have to have access to the names and files he safeguards, because all we have right now are small pieces of a larger puzzle. We know what is happening, but we don’t know the key players or how to stop it.”

“But if this is truly about reducing Alpha and Omega pairs, why is marrying Valerie even a part of his plan?” This point sticks like a thorn in her side. She better understands the gravity of the situation now, and she wants to help Ben escape unscathed, but she still doesn’t see why it’s crucial for him to give himself away to another Omega.

“It’s all about control. He lives to control and he thinks my feelings for Valerie are controlling my actions. Look… did Valerie tell you about Hux?”

“Yes, she mentioned you punched him because he was being disgusting to her.”

Ben snorts. “Disgusting is an understatement. You know what Snoke was doing to Valerie during her heats.”

Rey gives a curt nod. She doesn’t trust herself not to scream at him that she’s tired of hearing about what happened to Valerie. His affection for the other Omega is obvious and it’s like nails on chalkboard to her heart.

Ben hums, eyes locked aggressively on hers. “The men that visit her in the attic like to talk at our meetings. They like to share stories about what they did to her, what they made her do to them. And Snoke listens and smiles like they’re talking about the godsdamned weather. Hux—he does more than just talk. He likes to record videos of his visits; he’s been to the attic many times. Hux has been a favorite of Snoke’s for years. Snoke has linked Valerie and his dealings inextricably, and it was a popular assumption that Valerie would end up married to Hux and he would be the one to take over. Until that day I punched him.”

“The day I punched him, he was showing off his latest video. I refuse to ever speak of what I saw on that video to anyone, but he was hurting her, and she was screaming. Hux is a fucking sadist. And Snoke was watching the video and laughing and giving Hux pointers for his next visit. I’ve hated Snoke for a long time, Rey, but that day was the first time I wanted to kill him. Attacking him then would have been suicide, so I didn’t, and I hated myself for it. I punched Hux instead and Snoke took notice. He knew I didn’t participate in the humiliation of his daughter when she attended meetings. He assumed I was in love with her and saw a chance to strike. He brought me into his office not long after that meeting and promoted me to CFO. The promotion didn’t make any sense; I had only been with the company for two years. It didn’t make sense until he suggested I visit Valerie in the attic as my promotion gift. When I refused, he casually mentioned sending Hux instead. It was so close to seeing that video and the images were fresh, and I couldn’t condemn her to that, so I accepted and hoped that I could at least give her a break for one heat.”

“Oh, gods,” Rey whispers in horror. She didn’t think it could get any worse.

“You know what happened after that,” he shrugs, pausing to drain the rest of the Gatorade from his bottle.

“You had sex with Valerie.” She leans back into the loveseat and crosses her arms.

“No, I didn’t,” he retorts defensively. Rey blinks at him incredulously. “I never… _penetrated_ her or touched her.”

Rey frowns. “But Valerie said she made you do it.”

“I jerked myself off on her, and ok, I went in just enough to get the aim right to ease her heat. But there was no actual thrusting or anything. I jerked myself for 3 days until I was raw and bleeding, Rey, but I refused to defile her like the others. I am not _that_ kind of a monster,” he defends hotly.

“I misunderstood, then. I’m sorry, but she told me a lot of information and this is all so very overwhelming,” Rey whines, and now it’s her turn to be defensive.

“My relationship with Valerie began as a way to protect her as best I could, because I owe it to her for turning a blind eye to what was happening for so long. I knew about the attic for years and I did nothing. She met Paige while we were pretending to date. Paige moved into her family’s apartment after her attack and she lives on my floor. Valerie moved in with me to be closer to Paige. We have to share a bed to keep up appearances, but it’s big and we keep to our own sides. The wedding ceremony won’t be valid. I have a guy forging a marriage license that we will contest as soon as we can. As for the claiming… it’s not my favorite part of the deal, but I understand why Valerie is asking. She helped my mother with my deal. I owe her.”

“Claiming is permanent,” Rey hisses through her tears, because Ben still seems determined to move forward with this asinine plan.

“I know,” he replies softly.

“Claiming _means_ something to me.”

“It does to me too,” he insists.

Rey shakes her head, wiping the tears from her face and flinging them off her hands. “I won’t share you, Ben Solo. If you want to claim me, you can’t claim Valerie. I won’t allow it. Furthermore, you should have told me all of this when you came to my apartment the day of the marathon. I don’t give a damn what Valerie says, you should have told me. I shouldn’t have heard it first from your _mother_. In my _office_ , Ben. What Valerie wants is irrelevant to our relationship. She had no right telling you to keep this from me, and you were boneheaded for listening to her instead of doing what was right by me. You say you’ve known I’m your mate since you were 14? Then fucking act like it, Ben. Be my Alpha and put me first for once. Tell me how you feel so I don’t hear about it from other people,” she sobs.

“I told my mother not to say anything, but she panicked. She thought I was going to pull out of the mission, so she did what she thought she needed to do to protect my deal. And it’s not my place to tell you Valerie’s story. Besides you told me you didn’t want to discuss anything serious during your heat!”

“I didn’t want to discuss you working for TFO or that you’ve been gone for 10 years and then suddenly show up in my life like a hurricane. It didn’t mean not telling me about the fact that you live with a woman you plan to claim,” she rages. Honestly, how is this not obvious to him by now. “You didn’t have to give me her life story.”

“How can you sit there and honestly think you wouldn’t have asked a million questions I couldn’t answer? What kind of Alpha upsets his Omega during her heat? For fuck’s sake!” Ben launches himself from the couch to pace, flinging his arms in emphasis. “There was never going to be a good way to tell you this!”

“No, there’s definitely not, but you didn’t even try—”

He stomps his foot, crouching down like a panther ready to pounce on it’s prey. “Yes, I did! I was at the marathon that day, so I could run into you and we could agree to catch up and I could talk to you with Valerie and give you the entire picture at once. But then you had to go and trigger my rut, and Valerie suggested I hold off and it made sense to me at the time. Don’t tell me I didn’t fucking try,” he screams.

“You listened to another Omega’s wishes over what’s right for your Omega. That’s where you messed up. That’s where you lost me. Now go,” she cries, wrenching herself up and darting towards the hallway leading back to the sanctity of her room.

“No. No! We’re not done yet,” he roars. His long legs eat up the distance between them in record time, before Rey barely has time to blink. He bends forward until his face is even with hers, his trembling hands clutching at her arms. “Rey, I know I fucked up. I fucked up and then I fucked up some more, but I never meant to hurt you.”

“But you did, and you still are as long as you keep insisting you have to marry and claim her,” she whispers plaintively. “There has to be another way, Ben. I’ll help you find another way!”

“Rey, I will do anything for you, anything that you ask. But I can’t walk away from this mission and I can’t go back on my word to claim Valerie. It truly means nothing to me beyond helping a battle buddy. You don’t know what it was like to go through what we did. I can’t leave her behind to suffer at the hands of Hux. Snoke is all about control, and if he thinks I’m not sincere he will give her to Hux and that won’t end well for Valerie.”

Rey stares at him in dumbfounded silence. She can see she’s fighting a losing battle. Her feelings truly don’t matter on this aspect of Ben’s life and it cuts her to the quick. He doesn’t understand the hold Valerie has on him or how claiming her will only solidify that hold. If he claims Valerie she will be a part of their lives forever and Rey refuses to live a life where she isn’t first. Someone somewhere will see her worth and realize she comes first, it’s just that she spent the past 10 years hoping that someone would be the Alpha standing in front of her right now.

Rey’s never been very good at letting go, even in her darkest hours, and she’s not going to start now.

“Ben, _please_ , think about it. For me. Tell me you will at least consider that there’s got to be another way. I won’t share you, I can’t share you,” she declares.

Ben seems to spend an eternity considering her plea. He closes his eyes and inhales deeply before releasing his breath. When he opens his eyes, she sees the conflict plain as day in his eyes and her heart plummets.

“Ok.”

That’s not the answer she was expecting.

“Really?” She squeaks in surprise.

“Yes, my fierce little Omega. I will meet with my mother and Valerie and see what we can do,” he offers lowly, his hands rubbing up and down her arms in a gesture of comfort.

Elation is a heady thing and it zings through Rey’s body like lightening.

“Why? Why are you changing your mind now?”

“Because you are my Omega mate,” he smiles. Rey returns his smile shyly.

“But are you serious about considering other options?”

“Yes, I’m serious. You are my mate and doing all of this for you means nothing if you won’t be with me when it’s all said and done. I can’t make any promises other than I will try; there are others who would have to sign off on it,” he says solemnly.

It’s not exactly the answer Rey wants; it sounds too much like when parents tell their kids “I’ll think about it” because they don’t want to deal with the emotional consequences of the “no” they really mean, but she’ll work with it. This at least gives her time to puzzle out all the information she’s learned and get her emotions in order. And she fully intends to have a little heart-to-heart chat with Valerie.

“Ok,” she nods. She gently removes his hands from her arms and takes a step back. “I need time to think about all of this.”

Ben nods vigorously. “Of course, of course.”

“I need you to agree to leave me alone until I contact you. I can’t think clearly around you right now and I need distance. Please.”

He’s less enthusiastic about this part, but he nods in agreement.

“Ok,” Rey breathes. “I need to pack up and head home, I think I’ve overstayed my welcome here.”

“May I help?”

“No, thank you. I think it’s best if you leave now while we’re in a good place in the conversation.”

“Ok.” He nods, reluctantly dragging his feet to the front door with that sad, kicked puppy dog expression. He turns to look at her, lips parted like he intends to say something, but he simply offers an awkward wave goodbye before slipping out the door. Rey takes a deep breath, locking today’s conversations away to examine when she’s tucked into her apartment this evening and gets to packing.

  
\-----------------------------------  


She’s making a final sweep through the house to ensure she’s gathered all her things when the guys get home.

“Hey, Peanut. How’re you holding up?” Finn asks as he sweeps her into a bear hug. Rey buries her face into his shoulder, savoring the warm comfort of her friend’s embrace when it hits her.

“You’re hugging me!”

Finn chuckles warmly. “Yes, Peanut, I’m hugging yo—Oh!” Finn exclaims as her meaning dawns on him.

“It doesn’t hurt. Maybe it was just a weird fluke?” She posits with a shrug. Poe walks up behind them and throws his arms around them.

“Group hug,” he cheers. Laughter is the best medicine and Rey didn’t know just how badly she needed a good, solid laugh until this moment. She laughs until tears are streaming down her face.

“I love you guys so much,” she sniffles.

“We love you too, sweetheart,” Poe says with a lopsided grin. “You know, you don’t stink anymore either.” Rey and Finn roll their eyes. “Maybe that Sasquatch lovin’ is good for you,” he says with a wink.

“Well, there will be no more of that for a while. I’m all packed up, ready to head home. There’s a lot I need to think about. Chief among them is how to get Ben to realize marrying and claiming Valerie is ridiculous.”

Poe was heading to the kitchen, but he freezes at her words. He slowly pivots back around and fixes her in his sights. “Could you repeat that one more time for me?"

Rey cocks her head to one side, unsure what is going on with Poe. She glances quickly at Finn; his eyes are strained, his lips pressed into a thin line.

“I said I need to figure out how to convince Ben that he doesn’t need to marry and claim Valerie to accomplish the mission of taking down Snoke,” she says, slower than necessary as she glances between the two men. She can feel the tension rolling off them, which puzzles her already overwhelmed brain.

“What’s wrong with the plan as is?” Poe asks icily. And wow, where is this coming from?

Rey frowns. “You’re kidding right?”

“No. No, I’m not. Did you hear a word anyone said to you today?”

Rey goes icy hot with anger. She’s getting real tired of people asking her that question today. “I’m not doing this with you. I’m going home.”

“The hell you are, Rey. You’re going to listen to what I have to say,” Poe commands. Alpha commands. Poe just gave her an Alpha command. She freezes in place, eyes blinking wildly.

“I get that you’re upset because Ben didn’t tell you everything himself. And you have every right to be angry about that. But that is all you have a right to in this story. Valerie told us all about Ben’s motivations, but this really isn’t about you, Rey. You don’t get to decide for Ben or Valerie what they can or cannot do to break free of Snoke. I love you, but you are way outta line here,” he scolds with a frown, pointing his finger at her aggressively.

All Rey can do is blink in response. Finn stands silently at her side.

“I wouldn’t wish Valerie’s life on my worst enemy. She has done nothing wrong to you or Ben. Frankly, it’s really none of your business what they decided to do before you were in the picture.”

“Too far, babe,” Finn warns. Rey feels the commands slip from her mind and she shakes her head. Her relationship with Poe has always been a bit strained, but she is blindsided by the naked aggression in his tone. How can one Omega turn all of her men against her so fast?

“You really think it’s ok for Valerie to ask Ben to claim her? Because I don’t. And as his Omega I’m pretty sure I get a say in what my Alpha does. I’m not sharing Ben with Valerie,” she snarls, stomping her foot for emphasis.

Poe’s eyes narrow and his lips twitch. “You’re not sharing Ben with Valerie. He’s going to spend less than a minute biting her scent gland to leave his claim mark so other Alphas will leave her alone.”

“I know what it means to leave a claiming mark,” she shouts. “It’s not about how long it takes to bite her, it’s the act itself. It’s permanent. A part of my Alpha will forever be a part of her and I am the only one with that right. Claiming means something and I won’t have Ben diluting that meaning by going around and claiming others.”

Poe’s expression turns icy and Rey is aghast at her friend. She doesn’t understand why Poe is talking to her like this.

“Finn—”

“Don’t talk to my mate,” Poe snaps. It’s another Alpha command. A frisson of fear races down her spine and settles in her belly.

“I expected better of you, Rey. I expected you to empathize with an Omega who just spent 14 years being controlled and abused by her father. I expected you to empathize with an Omega who spent the last 6 years being systematically raped by Alphas at the order of her father, because she prefers women over men. I expected you to understand the gravity of what they are trying to accomplish, of what it will mean for Omegas all over the world. I expected you to realize how selfless Ben is being in all of this. He’s an idiot oaf when it comes to communicating, I’ll give you that, but I respect the hell out of what he is trying to do. I just don’t understand why you don’t see it that way.”

“Valerie is being unreasonable and selfish if she expects me to just casually share my Alpha, so she can get revenge against her father. I do feel terrible for what she has been done to her, it’s abhorrent what she has had to live through. But that doesn’t give her the right to ask this of Ben,” Rey counters.

Poe stalks closer, dropping his voice low, “Wrong, Rey. The only unreasonable and selfish person I know right now is you.”

Rey jerks back like she’s been slapped, because that’s exactly what this feels like. Finn is still standing eerily silent beside her. Tears begin falling faster than she can blink them away.

“The way I see it, Valerie is asking Ben to take one minute of his life and do something that will save her from Alphas for the rest of her life. Do you think she likes having to rub Ben’s cum into her skin, so her father will think she’s being fucked regularly by an Alpha? Did you ever stop to consider how demeaning that is? Do you think it’s ok to ask Ben to walk away from Valerie knowing that she will be handed off to Hux, who beats the shit out of her, by the way. You should see some of the scars that poor girl has. Snoke didn’t exactly enforce the ‘no permanent injury’ too strictly when it came to his favorite pet employee.”

“It is not Ben’s responsibility to save the world or Valerie. I am not sharing Ben with Valerie or anyone else; he is mine,” she hisses darkly. All she sees is the black abyss of her fear and anger and betrayal.

“No, you just think it’s ok for _me_ to share Finn with you four times a year, for days on end, so you can use his body to suit your needs,” Poe sneers.

“That is not the same thing,” she asserts hysterically. This is getting out of hand, fast. “That isn’t permanent, and Finn and I have had this arrangement for years before he met you. You agreed!”

“Feels pretty fucking permanent to me, Rey. Would you like me to add up all the hours you spend fucking _my_ mate each year? Tell me, Rey, why you needed my mate for your heats when you had boyfriends? Tell me, Rey, how unselfish you are to put your best friend in a position to choose between his mate and you?” Poe bites out, lips pulled back in a vicious grin even as tears pool in his eyes.

Rey has never stopped to think about her arrangement with Finn the way Poe is throwing it around right now. Hearing his words makes her feel dirty. That’s not how it is with Finn. It’s not. Or is it? Rey turns a tearful gaze to Finn, who’s also crying, his eyes locked on his mate with unmistakable guilt.

“Oh, gods,” Rey sobs, doubling over.

“How dare you judge Valerie for doing what she needs to do to survive. How dare you judge Ben for being willing to help another human being. How dare you stand there in your hypocritical rage and expect sympathy from me. You have been using Finn as your personal fuck-toy for 10 years, Rey. Yes, Rey, that’s _exactly_ what you have been doing,” he insists when she shakes her head at his accusation. Finn is not _that_ to her, he’s her best friend and she loves him.

“You have been using Finn without any regard to how he feels about it. When was the last time you asked him if he wanted to do it? You just assume it’s ok. Do you know why I suddenly started joining him for your heats? Because he couldn’t do it anymore, but he couldn’t bring himself to turn you away. So he had me tag along to help get him in the mood to fuck you and listen to you cry and beg for him to be someone else. Do you think that was easy for him? Do you have any idea what it was like to nurse him through the aftercare when he was done helping you with a heat?”

Rey crouches on the floor, hands planted on the floor for balance, panting. She’s dizzy and feels sick to her stomach. She can’t believe the words coming out of Poe’s mouth. She can’t believe Finn is standing their silently while his mate spews such vitriol at her.

Most of all, worst of all, she can’t believe the truth in what Poe’s saying has never occurred to her until this moment.

“And you want to know what else, Rey? I’ve wanted to fuck you since the day I met you, but Finn made it clear to me from day one that the two of you were a package deal and you were off limits to me in all ways sexually. That he invited me to join your heats and risked me not being able to resist an Omega in heat should tell you exactly how much Finn has stretched himself to accommodate you and your needs. And you don’t even bat an eye because you are _selfish_. Go ahead and tell her why you never let me and Rey fuck each other during our little threesomes, Finn,” Poe fumes, face turning red with rage. She’s never seen him so worked up in the nearly 4 years she’s known him.

“The day before he left for boarding school, I promised Ben that I would protect you from Alphas. I promised to watch over you and keep you safe during your heats because he was coming back for you. He was going to come back and claim you and make you his mate,” Finn monotones.

“And there it is, princess. Finn has risked his own happiness, risked his relationship with his mate, to keep that promise and protect you. Don’t you _dare_ talk to me about sharing or loyalties or any of that nonsense. I am constantly pushed to second place when it comes to you. And I deal with it because I love Finn and he means more to me than fighting over _you_. You need to take a long, hard look in the mirror,” he growls before stomping away. She flinches when he slams the door to their bedroom.

“Is it true?” She whispers hoarsely while crouching on the ground. She doesn’t dare look at him.

“Yes,” Finn answers dully.

Rey does the only thing she knows how to do when she’s confronted with the possibility of someone leaving her—because how can Finn stay after this revelation? —she runs. She runs out the door, into her car and speeds off to her apartment, the broken look on Finn’s face haunting her on the drive home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Communicate, communicate, communicate! All of these kids need to learn how to use their words more effectively.
> 
> I will try to get one more update done before heading out to the water for a little family summer vacay later this week!
> 
> Feedback is fuel! Let me hear your thoughts! :)


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Friendship fluff with Finn! A brief glimpse at Rey and Finn's backstory together in the system. And a short, but kinda sweet text exchange with Ben. Rey's gearing up to fight! for her right!... at the party!
> 
> (Shameless appropriation of a Beastie Boys song. I regret nothing.)

Rey spends the next few days locked in her home, throwing herself into work and running; anything to keep from sitting still too long and having to think or feel. Instead, she focuses on her project to promote inner-city community gardening for lower income areas for JEDHA. If she does the grunt work for them, cities are more inclined to invest money into the effort, paired with a generous donation from Rebel Alliance. But it’s a daunting, tedious project to navigate as she’s researching the various hardy fruits and vegetables that will work in a variety of soils and weather conditions, and she couldn’t be more thankful for the distraction from the disaster her personal life has become.

Ben remains true to his word to leave her alone and Leia keeps her communication strictly business related. Even Finn remains radio silent, though that detail hurts more than helps, because her fear of losing Ben pales in comparison to her fear of losing Finn. Rey can’t lose Finn, he’s the only family she has right now, the only one who knows what it was like for her in the foster care system that brought them together. She’s known him since she was 5 and that kind of history cannot be written off or let go of easily.

Being hurt by someone you care about is painful but realizing that you contributed to the pain of a loved one—however unintentional—is downright agony. While Rey doesn’t agree with every point Poe made—it’s certainly not her fault Poe wants her, which is something she would never have reciprocated anyway, even with Finn’s blessing—she understands he was lashing out from a place of hurt on behalf of his mate. Hurt that she is responsible for causing, even if she didn’t realize it at the time. Rey decides that she can never turn to Finn for help with a heat again, of that she is certain even if she and Ben don’t work out. She can’t get Poe’s words out of her head about how much aftercare her friend needed after their time together. Those words haunt her more than anything that has been said to her in her life.

It takes a few days but eventually, begrudgingly, she sees some parallels between her situation with Finn and Ben’s situation with Valerie. She still maintains it’s not the same thing. Having sex with a trusted, willing friend to keep herself safe during her heats is a far cry from something as permanent as claiming an Omega you don’t love or want to mate with, and Rey will not be manipulated by anyone’s agenda into thinking otherwise. She can’t help but wonder if Poe’s motivation for supporting Valerie’s plan comes from a dark place of revenge against her. And as angry as it makes her, she absolutely understands, because she carries a dark Alpha place within herself, as well.

When it comes to the people you love, sometimes being right doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter if Poe is right about the awful situation their arrangement puts Finn in with his mate, he still had no right to say those ugly words to her, to accuse of her of essentially not caring about Finn as much as Poe does. It also doesn’t matter that Finn never shared with her his changed feelings about their arrangement, or that unfair promise Ben inflicted on him, she still should have picked up on the hints and signs, because the luxury of reflection these past couple days tells her there were signs. And she _knows_ how Finn is about putting others before himself. She should have been a better friend. Period.

Sometimes, it’s better to say you’re sorry and try to be better than it is to haggle over the details of who is more right. Sometimes, it’s better to say you’re sorry and move on from that person and that situation. The problem is that Rey isn’t sure which of those is best for her and Finn, or her and Ben. Rey is a fighter when it comes to the people that she loves and—oh.

Rey blinks at her reflection in her bathroom mirror in shock, the toothbrush frozen in it’s path to her open mouth. Until this moment she hadn’t considered herself to love Ben. You mean in love, her mind whispers gleefully. She drops her toothbrush into the sink and dashes into her living room to swipe up her phone from the coffee table. It’s still early Thursday morning, Finn should be just hopping onto his train to commute into work. Her fingers dance across the screen as she types out a text to him, before the reality of the moment catches up to her. She stops typing and sets the phone down carefully. She can’t share this revelation with her bestie right now.

With a determined frown on her face, Rey picks up the phone and deletes the text she had been typing and slowly types out a different message: _I’m sorry and I love you_. She sinks down onto her couch, clutching the phone in her hands, unable to look away from the screen, silently begging Finn to respond now. The read receipt appears 5 minutes after she hit send. Her stomach jumps in anticipation and she can’t help resorting to her old habit of biting her fingernails when she’s nervous. It takes a couple of minutes, but she sees the telltale bubble of (…) that signals he’s typing. Then the bubble disappears only to reappear. Eventually the bubble disappears for a few solid minutes, but no answering text appears. Deflated, Rey turns her phone off and gets back to work.

Later that evening, she’s munching away at her chicken and wild berry salad while catching up on work emails when there’s a knock on her door. Maybe it’s the Chinese place making sure she’s still alive since she hasn’t had the nerve to place an order since Ben answered the door while still knotted in her. Heat races up her face at the memory and she cringes before resolutely stuffing another forkful of salad into her mouth and ignoring her door. She’s not expecting anyone anyway. She opens the next email in her queue and is surprised to see it’s from Dr. Kalonia, explaining that she’s completed her research into Rey’s possible OTP status and would she please visit her office at her earliest convenience to discuss the findings and run some bloodwork. Rey grunts in surprise. Bloodwork? Her possible OTP status had been blessedly pushed to the back of her mind since her appointment last week, but now it’s staring her in the face and daring her to respond.

Another knock, firmer this time, sounds from her door. Of the two, Rey would much rather deal with whatever is on the other side of her door than have to figure out a polite way to tell the kind doctor to keep her research to herself. Tossing her fork onto the plate, she stands with a groan, taking a moment to stretch her stiff muscles from sitting all day. What she sees through the peephole is wholly unexpected and she does a double take before yanking her door open with shaking hands.

Rey entered the foster system when she was only 4 years old, after being found wandering the New Mexico desert in dirty clothes and clutching a tattered doll fashioned after a pilot from the Star Wars movie popular at the time. From an early age, she figured out how to work the system so that she spent less time in a foster home and more time in the group home with Finn. She wasn’t interested in bonding with someone else’s family when she knew her family would come and save her one day. Finn and Rey formed a bond even the social workers came to respect and after both of them aged out of the age range most popular with adoptive families, they kept the two of them together as much as possible. Separation is inevitable in the system though. Kids weren’t allowed to bring personal effects into their foster homes, so they took to passing the little pilot doll between the two of them. Whenever Rey left, she would leave the doll on Finn’s pillow, and vice versa. It was a habit they kept to even as adults. If one of them needed comfort, the other would bring the doll.

The last time Rey saw the doll, she had passed it off to Finn in the hospital, shortly after Poe’s emergency appendectomy. Her friend was asleep in the chair next to his mate’s hospital bed and she had tucked the doll into his lap, kissed him softly on the cheek and left. Now that same doll was peering back her through her apartment door’s peephole.

“Finn,” she exclaims tearfully, throwing herself into her friend’s open arms without a second thought. Until that electric crawling sensation reared its ugly head and she pulled back with a mournful yelp.

“Again?” Finn asks gently as he closes the door and ushers her over to the couch.

“I guess. You’re the first person I’ve seen or touched since Sunday,” she sniffs. Finn pushes the doll into her hands, careful not to touch her skin. They sit in awkward silence for a few minutes as Rey plucks at the doll nervously in her lap.

“I’m sorry!” They blurt out in unison.

“Please don’t leave me,” Rey begs, her hazel eyes wide and pleading.

“Peanut, what did I tell you before? I love you and I’m _never_ leaving you. Ever,” he answers fiercely. Rey nods at him, tears streaming down her face.

“Everything’s a mess, Finn. I don’t know how to climb out,” she confesses brokenly.

“We’ll figure it out together, like we always have. Two peanuts in the same cracked shell,” he offers, bending his head down to look into her eyes, the love and sincerity shining through his words. “I’m sorry for how Poe behaved on Sunday. He’s hurt and angry and he took it out on you instead of taking it out on me like he should have. That was our fight, not yours.”

“No, it’s my fault. Poe’s right, I have been selfish. I should have noticed the signs, should have seen the toll it was taking on you,” she babbles.

“My relationship with Poe is not your responsibility just like my relationship with you is not Poe’s responsibility. The truth is, I have wanted to stop my part in your heats for a while now. Poe has been frustrated—and rightly so—at my reluctance to say anything to you. And what he said about me not caring if he couldn’t resist you is absolute crap. He was never going to touch you in any way, Rey. I hope you know that I would never put you at risk like that. Never.”

“So he doesn’t want me after all? Why would he say that then?!”

Finn clears his throat, shifting in his seat. “No, he definitely wants you. He wants you to be our girl in every sense of the word. Poe loves you, Rey. And it broke his heart to see you pining over Ben year after year. When he started joining us, he saw it firsthand. Things came to a head after you showed up at our house after your last heat. Poe thought it was time to end my promise to Ben and let him have a chance with you, to be your Alpha.”

“That isn’t Poe’s decision to make. He was never going to be my Alpha,” Rey insists indignantly.

“I know, I know. And I tried to tell him that, but he wouldn’t listen. He thought you would get it out of your system that night at the bar and then he could make a move. Honestly, he thought he was helping to keep you safe, Rey. It’s misguided and fucked up, but he really thought he was helping,” Finn sighs.

“Does he really think I’m being a hypocrite because of our arrangement?”

“A little bit, yes,” he answers evenly.

“Do you?” She asks, voice quavering.

“Not exactly. The difference here is that all parties involved agreed, and I know that you would have stopped seeking my help the moment I asked you to for the sake of my relationship with Poe. I made the decision to keep the truth of my feelings from you. That’s on me not you. I’m a Beta, technically I can’t be claimed. The stakes aren’t the same at all and nothing about our agreement is permanent. Poe went too far with that comment.”

Rey snorts in agreement.

“He’s not perfect, he’s hotheaded and wrong more often than not and he’s more than a little dramatic, but I love him, Rey. I love him, and he loves me, and he gets me in a way no one ever well. Even you, Peanut,” Finn says softly.

Rey nods in understanding. Ben’s not perfect; he’s hotheaded too. And definitely more wrong than right. Ok, and he’s dramatic too. It would seem she and Finn have similar tastes in Alphas.

“I love him,” she whispers.

“Of course, you do, Peanut. Poe’s a great guy even if he’s being an ass right now.”

“No, I mean Ben. I love Ben.”

“Of course, you do, Peanut,” he repeats with a grin. “Does that surprise you?”

“No. I mean, yes. I don’t know,” she shrugs. “I can’t resist him, I know that much. A part of him feels like it’s always been a part of me, and there are definitely strong attachment emotions at play since we were kids. But this feels different, more significant. And scarier.”

“It’s all going to be ok, I promise. I’ve got a good feeling about all of this,” Finn admits with a grin and waggle of his eyebrows.

“How can you be so sure?” she wails because Rey’s still unsure how this will work out.

“Deep down, Ben wants to be a good Alpha to you. I know he will change his mind if you stick to your guns.”

“Ben and I have very different ideas of how he can be a good Alpha to me. That’s the problem,” she sighs. “But I really don’t want to talk about it right now.”

“I get it. I won’t push.”

“Are we going to be ok?” She whispers nervously.

“Yes, Peanut. We’re going to be ok. Poe’s going to be ok with us, with you, too. He just needs time to cool off. He wants to help just as much as I do, and he’s frustrated because he can’t. And he reacted badly about it. Poe will apologize soon enough, I promise.”

“Me, too. I’ll apologize to Poe as well. I truly didn’t mean to cause trouble between the two of you. He’s right, I was being selfish. I will never ask for your help with my heats again, I promise,” she vows earnestly.

“Ok, good, because that’s the same conclusion we came to and I wasn’t sure how to tell you,” he says sheepishly. Rey smiles reassuringly at him.

“Thank you for bringing Snap back to me,” she giggles as she hugs the little doll in her lap.

Finn laughs heartily. “Don’t mention it, Peanut. Anything to put a smile on my beautiful friend’s face again. You deserve to smile and be happy.”

Finn stays a few more hours at her apartment. They order in a pizza and binge watch episodes of The Ranch on Netflix before he finally calls it a night around 10 pm. She knows they still need to talk through everything that Poe said, but she also knows that they will be alright and that’s what is most important right now.

Before going to bed, Rey logs back into her work email and sends a response to Dr. Kalonia asking if Monday would work for an appointment. Her evening with Finn has put her in a more positive mood and her curiosity is getting the better of her especially since the weird touching issue is obviously back. It’s late at night, she’s not expecting a response, so she’s surprised when her computer chimes with an incoming email. The doctor will be out of town next week, but she can fit Rey in tomorrow, before everyone leaves for the day to get ready for the ball.

The ball!

In all the commotion and confusion of the past week, Rey had forgotten about the ball. The very ball at which Ben is supposed to propose to Valerie, according to what Leia told her. Last week.

Surely the plan has changed, right?

Rey responds affirmatively to the doctor’s request and marks the time in her calendar. Then she texts Ben in a panic.

[Rey: _Are you still going to ask at the ball?_ ]

His response is immediate, as if he had been waiting with baited breath for her text. She suspects his response would have been immediate no matter when she texted him.

[Ben: _No_.]

She barks out a teary laugh of joy and relief before she really considers the implications of his one-word answer.

[Rey: _Are you still planning to ask? Ever?_ ]

[Ben: _It’s complicated. She’s still staying with Paige and she’s not coming with me to the ball anymore_.]

[Rey: _Is that all part of the new plan?_ ]

[Ben: _No, there is no new plan yet. She’s… upset with me right now_.]

Rey’s dark Alpha side is screaming with happiness.

[Rey: _Will you still be attending the ball? Will Snoke be there?_ ]

[Ben: _Yes, and yes. You?_ ]

[Rey: _Wouldn’t miss it_.]

She already bought her dress and shoes months ago, before any of this mess began. A wicked grin spreads across her face as she imagines Ben’s reaction to seeing her in the black, beaded dress that clings to her curves like a second skin.

[Ben: _I can’t wait to see you_.]

[Rey: _I know_.]

She giggles girlishly at the shameless flirting implied with her last response and turns off her cellphone before Ben has a chance to respond. Maybe she can talk Dr. Kalonia into giving her something to keep her awake tomorrow night, because she’s not going to be sleeping tonight. There’s too much to plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am still blown away by the response to this fic! Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts. I appreciate your comments and try hard to respond to just about every single one of them.
> 
> This is the last update for a while as I head out on vacation with my family. What could be more relaxing than spending time with my young kids near a big body of water? lol


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little peek into Rey's mental landscape before diving into that pesky OTP revelation we've all been waiting on!
> 
> I'm baaaaack! Vacation was awesome, but I missed my story and my readers.

Rey slumps back into her chair in the waiting room, shoulders hunched, trying in vain to stifle yet another yawn. She takes another sip from her triple espresso coffee, but it might as well be decaf for all the good it’s doing to keep her awake. She taps her feet impatiently as she eyes the clock hanging over the receptionist’s desk; she’s been waiting for 15 minutes since they took her back to the lab area and drew three vials of blood before unceremoniously dismissing her back to the waiting area. The calming creams and neutral beiges of the brightly lit waiting room feel like they’re mocking her irritable mood. Forgoing sleep for planning last night turned out to be less than productive as it’s now a mere 5 hours until the ball starts—until she will see Ben again—and she’s coming up empty on an alternative solution to the claiming problem.

She desperately wants to be able to march into the ball, prove to everyone that Ben belongs to her when it becomes clear he can’t hide his feelings for her, and to have Ben proclaim for all the world to hear that he intends to claim her, and only her. This fantasy played out in her head over and over last night, to varying degrees of success, but even Rey could see the hollow victory this scenario would yield in real life. She will lose Ben to Snoke’s downfall if Ben refuses to complete his mission because of her own selfish, however rightfully so, desire to keep Ben from ever claiming another Omega… even if that claiming will set him free for their future together. A future her Alpha declares as the impetus behind his part in this whole misbegotten plan.

The foster kid in Rey stomps her feet in righteous indignation at the thought of her Alpha permanently claiming another Omega. And, yeah, ok, she understands how quickly the act itself will be, and she understands that it doesn’t mean the same between Ben and Valerie as it will between Ben and herself.

But why should she agree to have the meaning of this sacred act between lovers diluted? The blazing truth, like the sun burning through the morning fog, sears so fiercly even Rey can’t deny it: in these modern times, claiming means very little to society as a whole, but it means the world to this throwaway orphan who has never been claimed by another soul. Her parents abandoned her, and her foster families rejected her without ever trying to see through her difficulties. Finn has been the steadfast love of her life, but even he has a mate to prioritize above her.

Just once in her life, Rey wants to be the priority, to be claimed irrevocably and publicly by another human being who sees her worth just as she sees it. Never in all her childish daydreams of belonging did she ever consider herself sharing this claim with another. But then she is reminded that Finn and Poe have found that with each other and still made room for her. What she has shared with Finn leaves no permanent mark on her body or her chemical makeup, but it has left an indelible mark on her heart and her soul, and Finn and Poe’s by extension. And isn’t that more important than the mere physical? She loves Finn and he loves her and that elevates what they have shared together beyond the physical act of sex itself. Ben doesn’t love Valerie, but he obviously cares very much about her wellbeing, and perhaps that means something, even if it’s not the same as Rey’s feelings.

So why can’t she be more like Finn and make room for a fellow Omega who has spent her life battered and abused at the hands of her father and his Alpha cronies? It’s not like Ben and Valerie are sharing their bodies the same way she and Finn did for so many years.

Jealousy.

Intense, soul-crushing jealousy is why she can’t bring herself to simply agree with the current mission plan. And jealousy is a bitch. A beautiful, blonde haired Omega bitch who hasn’t asked for any of this anymore than Rey has. If she’s really honest with herself, Rey can see that she and Valerie are on equal footing in this aspect. It may be Valerie’s plan, but Rey can’t imagine being so desperate for personal safety that she has to ask an Alpha she doesn’t love or want to be mated with to leave his claiming bite on her. And Valerie is desperate right now. Desperate to escape a life of abuse and neglect and rape.

And then it all comes full circle and Rey is back to her instincts screaming against sharing her Alpha in this way, no matter the benefits others declare it to have. Ben is _her_ Alpha. Claiming is _permanent_ and means something beyond the disgusting distillation of it being an act of pure possession by entitled Alphas like Snoke. No matter what they think, Valerie having Ben claim her is no different than what Snoke encourages Alphas everywhere to do to Omegas. And Rey will not stand by and allow anyone to desecrate something in the name of the greater good. Because what does it really mean if the greater good hinges on something so wrong? Rey’s nose wrinkles in disgust as she swallows down the bile rising in the back of her throat. Surely, she can’t be the only Omega who feels this way. Doesn’t she get a say in how Omegas are supposedly saved? Is she the only one who feels like she doesn’t need to be saved in the first place?

Rey’s indignant scoff echoes in the empty waiting room. This isn’t so much about saving Omegas as it is about saving one Omega in particular, and one misguided idiot Alpha. It’s really not her responsibility to waste precious sleep trying to figure out another solution, now is it? She can feel her blood pressure rising dangerously when the smoothly saccharine voice of the nurse interrupts her thoughts.

“Miss Jakku follow me, please,” the red-haired nurse beckons with a small smile as she props the door open with her hip. Rey takes a deep breath, closing her eyes and counting to ten in an attempt to will her emotions back into the corner of her mind.

The nurse must mistake her hesitation for nervousness regarding her medical visit. “It will be okay, Miss Jakku, Dr. Kalonia has wonderful news to share with you today.” The smile gets bigger.

Rey grits her teeth. She’s getting awfully tired of other people deciding what their news should mean to her these days. But she offers a shaky smile instead, walking in slow steps behind the nurse sashaying down the carpeted hallway dotted with potted plants and trees. The last vestiges of calm evaporate as she trudges down the excessively long hallway, feeling all too much like a dead man walking. The comically oblivious nurse deposits Rey into the nondescript, empty office at the end of the hall, ushering her into a worn wingback chair facing a generous wooden desk piled high with clutter and papers.

Patience is a skill Rey perfected as a young child bouncing from one uncertain environment to another, but her nerves are shot in the wake of nearly two weeks of emotional tumult and she’s five seconds from bolting out the door when Dr. Kalonia breezes into the room, shutting the door with a soft click. The doctor is beaming like a star in the night sky as she shuffles through papers in her hand and plops down into her chair with an exaggerated sigh.

“Being a doctor specializing in Omega health isn’t always… happy,” she begins delicately before breaking into a wide smile that crinkles at the corners of her dusty brown eyes. “And then there are days like today, when I get to discuss such joyous findings. It gives me goosebumps!” She pulls back her white coat sleeves to demonstrate that she does, indeed, have goosebumps. Rey can’t help it, she’s pulled in by the exuberance emanating from the woman seated before her and she gives a toothy grin in response.

“My blood work came back ok?”

Dr. Kalonia huffs as she pulls her glass onto her nose and peers down at the paperwork on her desk. “Yes, dear, your blood work is perfectly normal… for an OTP Omega,” she finishes with another generous smile, eyes dancing.

“I didn’t realize there was blood work for an OTP Omega since we’re so rare,” Rey points out slowly.

“Ah, yes, you are very rare. Less than 5% of the global population, as a matter of fact,” the doctor exclaims with a jubilant thrust of her finger in the air. “It’s remarkable how OTPs always find each other, given the odds. But that’s where forces greater than ourselves come into play,” Dr. Kalonia giggles.

Rey sits gaping at her doctor, a woman who has always been the epitome of professionalism. And she’s giggling like a school child. The woman seems to catch herself and she gives a small cough before straitening her posture and continuing in a subdued tone.

“There’s no specific blood work for an OTP Omega, per say, but what we can do is check your reproductive hormones and protein markers for any abnormalities, and you have some remarkable results. We will need to send some of your samples out to a genetic lab for further testing, but your Omega genomes have shifted down to your very DNA, my dear.” Dr. Kalonia’s eyes sparkle with feverish intensity.

“What, exactly, does that mean?” Rey asks, careful to keep her voice calm despite the rapid thumping of her heart against her ribcage.

“You have been claimed! It’s the most remarkable thing I have ever seen as a doctor,” she declares triumphantly.

Rey nearly falls out of her chair, but the doctor is too excited to notice.

“As I’m sure you’re aware, when an Alpha bites an Omega he shares his specific protein markers through enzymes in his saliva, released specifically during a rut. These markers attach and multiply within hours to permanently alter an Omega’s reproductive hormones. Her chemical makeup shifts to protect that Alpha’s reproductive claim on her. His scent merges with hers to alter her pheromones and his markers ensure her eggs respond readily to his sperm. It’s an evolutionary hangover from our ancestors. An evolutionary hangover that is losing its potency as time goes on. For the most part, these days, that claiming bite no longer carries the power to keep an Omega from reproducing with another as it used to in times past. Essentially, we are evolving past it.”

“I’m sorry… w-what does this have to do with me being c-claimed? He hasn’t even bitten me,” Rey wails, edging quickly on hysterical. With a dramatic flourish, she yanks back her hair and waves frantically at her pristinely unmarked scent gland. Dr. Kalonia gives a rapid tsking sound, waving Rey’s gesture away with her own hand.

“As an OTP Omega, you are an evolutionary time machine. It’s rather exciting! Your Alpha didn’t need to bite you to claim you as we have come to know it today. You were claimed the moment he ejaculated inside you! The protein markers in his semen began to work on your cells within seconds after knotting you, my dear. It’s why your heat lasted longer than usual, though it wasn’t simply a matter of reproduction; his body was trying to pump as much of his DNA into yours to facilitate the claiming. This is unique to OTP couples only. However, as potent as this exchange is in an OTP couple, he will still need to leave a claiming bite on your scent gland to finish the claiming cycle.”

Dr. Kalonia relays this earth-shattering information in an oddly clinical speech juxtaposed with a gleeful tone usually reserved for girlfriends waist deep into happy hour. It’s unnerving.

“B-but I didn’t know. I didn’t have a s-say…” Rey’s voice stutters into confused silence as she recalls the moment Ben first knotted her in the heat tent. He had murmured sweet promises about claiming her as he pulsed his spend deep into her body. Did they know the significance of that moment on some biological level? She had certainly believed him with every fiber of her being. And now she knows that he has, in fact, claimed her… and her heart aches with emotion she can’t identify. This is not how she imagined her claiming to go. She fully expected to be present and knowledgeable about what was to take place between her and her Alpha. She expected it to be a romantic act filled with saccharine promises of love and fidelity.

This feels cheapened.

The good doctor seems to finally sense that her news is not being received with the joy she anticipated.

“My dear Rey, I’m sorry this doesn’t line up with what modern society has led you to believe it should be. Claiming is an evolutionary hangover we don’t need to reproduce and advance as a species. It has been reduced to a political movement against Omegas on one hand and a grossly elevated and glorified romantic gesture on the other. And don’t even get me started on the perversion applied to it by the porn industry,” Dr. Kalonia intones softly, and not unkindly.

“It’s not grossly elevated to me,” Rey argues sharply. Dr. Kalonia nods gently.

“I understand, Rey. What I mean is that it can still have that meaning to you if you want it to. You have been claimed, but it’s not permanent just yet. He still needs to bite you to complete the cycle. Some things even evolution hasn’t changed and the specific markers in an Alpha’s saliva are the only ones that can begin the more permanent aspects of the claiming process. They only exist in Alpha salvia and can only interact with the proper receptors during a heat-rut when the systems of both parties are flooded with hormones.”

“But you said my bloodwork shows changes in my DNA,” Rey groans.

“The geneticist’s lab will offer more insight on that aspect, but yes, your blood work does indicate changes associated with claiming, even with the lack of claiming bite. My research tells me this is another evolutionary throwback to protect your Alpha’s reproductive claim. Look, this part of it sounds dry and emotionless, I understand. I promise there’s more to it,” the doctor offers with a comforting smile.

“Biologically, you have been claimed. You may experience moodiness and aggression the longer you are separated from your Alpha. Your scent will change to other Alphas, as it would if you had been bitten. What’s different in your case, is that your scent will be significantly more unbearable to Alphas who have a hormonal response to your presence. In other words, an Alpha that wishes to have sex with you will be more affected by your scent than a normal Alpha you might pass on the streets.”

“That makes sense,” Rey quips dryly as she recalls Poe’s overdramatic response to her scent when she stayed with the guys last week. “What about touching? Touching my Beta friend is uncomfortable, but touching another Alpha is almost excruciating lately.”

“Ah, yes, touching! What you are experiencing sounds perfectly normal for an OTP Omega. Other Omegas should pose no issue to touch. Betas with any amount of the Omega genome will be uncomfortable, but not painful. Betas and Alphas, or any combination of the two will be painful- “

“Leia touched me, and it didn’t hurt,” Rey blurts out.

“Pardon me?” Dr. Kalonia asks with a furrow of her brow.

“My last appointment with you, that day I touched Leia—she hugged me—and it didn’t hurt. It didn’t even feel uncomfortable like it did with my Beta friend later that same day, but she’s an Alpha.”

Dr. Kalonia blinks at Rey, cocking her head to one side.

“Who’s your Alpha, Rey?” She asks, slowly and deliberately.

“Why do you need to know that?” Rey retorts defensively, shifting uncomfortably in her chair.

“Only family—someone who shares the same basic DNA structure as your OTP Alpha—can touch you without consequence once you enter this part of the claiming cycle.”

“Oh,” Rey breathes, looking anywhere but at her doctor.

“Rey, you know that whatever is shared here is legally protected by doctor-patient privilege. Is Ben Solo your Alpha?”

Rey gives a short nod.

“Oh,” Dr. Kalonia breathes. Silence settles between the two women, the ticking of the clock on the cluttered desk the only sound for several minutes. “I am familiar with his… current situation, Rey. His OTP status is going make his mission impossible to complete as it currently stands,” she says firmly.

Rey looks at the doctor in surprise. “You know about the mission?”

“Yes, Rey. I’m the doctor for all of Rebel Alliance, including Ben and Valerie. I am familiar with their mission and what they intend to do,” Dr. Kalonia divulges before pausing, seeming to gather herself before continuing. “I know things about their mission that Leia and Snoke do not.” She locks eyes with Rey meaningfully.

Rey chokes on a sob. “You do?”

“Yes, my dear. And it lines up with what I have learned about OTP couples. Rey, you should know that Ben can leave a claiming bite on another Omega, but—and this a big but—it will not take. His protein markers are specifically designed for you and you alone. The two of you are quite literally made for each other. Valerie will become ill from the bite, but it will not change her chemical makeup as most bites do. Her scent will remain unchanged once her body purges itself of Ben’s enzymes, which can take a few days, depending on her immune system. The bite will scar, but that is all it will do for her as far as long-term protection from other Alphas.”

Rey brightens noticeably at this news. “Really?” She asks breathlessly.

“Yes, but there’s more. Ben will only be able to bite another Omega if he hasn’t already bitten his OTP Omega. So, in theory, he can bite Valerie and give her a claiming scar, but only if he hasn’t bitten you first. His entire cache of enzymes will be released once he encounters your blood during a claiming bite. Not only will his bite be rendered useless from a biological standpoint, he will no longer possess the drive to bite an Omega at all. It’s much like how he has no drive to knot another Omega—yes, I am aware of that,” the doctor nods with a smirk, which would seem out of place except Rey understands what the doctor means by it.

“What it all boils down to is this: You and Ben are destined and designed to be together. It’s all tied into reproduction, but there’s a spiritual aspect to it that is harder to quantify. I’ve known Ben for a long time; Leia and are longtime friends. He has been absolutely miserable without you, and I would bet the same of you. It’s not a weakness, it’s the forces of nature at work. To what purpose, we don’t know. But Ben can only be your Alpha and you can only be his Omega,” she explains.

Rey sniffles loudly, tears of happiness falling down her face. The information Dr. Kalonia has shared resonates within her soul, a balm to her tattered and torn edges.

“You should know that the claiming process as it currently stands will fade. The longer you abstain from the presence of your Alpha, the more your moodiness, aggression, painful touching, and scent change will diminish. It is possible for you to fall in love, mate and reproduce with another, as it is the same with Ben. But no other Alpha will be able to leave a claiming bite on you—they can certainly leave a scar, but the process will be similar for you as it would for an Omega Ben tries to bite—and Ben will not be able to fully claim another Omega. But as soon as he leaves his claiming bite on you, it’s game over. You will never be able to fall in love, mate and reproduce with another, and the same will be for Ben. It is irrevocable. Furthermore, any separation by death will drive the other mad. You are a statistical anomaly in the general population, but amongst mental illness sufferers you are over represented. It is the only drawback to being an OTP couple that I can find, because no matter how the odds stack up, you couples always find each other. Always.” The doctor finishes with a watery smile and small sniffle.

“Oh, wow… I don’t know what to say,” Rey whispers.

“It’s the only kind of romantic I can endorse,” Dr. Kalonia shares breathlessly. Rey giggles in response.

“What does all of this mean for the mission?”

“I have no say in that, unfortunately. I can’t share any of this outside this room, so how this impacts the mission is really up to you and Ben. Assuming you intend to share this with Ben,” she says delicately.

“I definitely intend to share this with Ben,” Rey asserts firmly. She’s just not sure how or when to share this revelation. Technically, it solves nothing regarding the claiming bite. And a big part of Rey wants Ben to change his mind about claiming Valerie on his own and not because forces of destiny have made it so.

“I really think you should meet with my friend, Dr. Kanata, the therapist I recommended at your last appointment. She will be able to give you insight into this situation that goes beyond my understanding. Maz has seen it all and she can offer you some much needed perspective and guidance. It’s too late to get you in today, but I’m sure she can fit you in early next week.”

Rey smiles. “Ok, that sounds great.”

“Good,” the doctor responds firmly. She leans forward, elbows on her desk, fingers steepled together in front of her. “Off the record as your doctor, I’d like to give you some advice. Don’t attend the ball tonight. It’s too risky given what we know about the pull you and Ben share with each other. Cool your heels this weekend and wait until after you’ve met with Maz to discuss this with Ben. I’m not implying you shouldn’t share this with him—the opposite actually—but you must proceed carefully. Cautiously. Given the tenuous situation of the mission.”

And just like that, Rey’s smile dies and her back stiffens defensively. “Do you think I should let my Alpha claim another Omega?” She bites out frostily.

Dr. Kalonia waves her hands, shaking her head vigorously. “No! That is not what I am saying or suggesting at all. In my honest, and off the record, opinion, I don’t think Ben will do it. He can’t now that he has found his OTP Omega again. What I _am_ saying is that there is more going on than a claiming bite. Every exposure you have in Ben’s presence will further drive the two of you together. Honestly, I wouldn’t put it past the two of you to go at it like rabbits in front of everyone,” the older woman says with chagrin.

“Is that supposed to be funny?” Rey demands, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

“No, dear, it’s not. It’s a legitimate, biological urge that will be difficult for your rational brains to override. You will want to want it, but you won’t be able to consider rationally the implications of those actions. I’m honestly surprised it hasn’t happened given the ranges in your blood work. You must have been with him recently.”

Rey’s skin heats with a crawling flush. “Sunday. We were together Sunday, and it was… awkward because we weren’t alone at first,” she admits haltingly.

“Well, that explains that,” the doctor offers with a shrug. “Ben possesses an abnormal amount of self-restraint, which seems to fly in the face of his past actions under Snoke. I’m not entirely surprised he hasn’t bitten you yet, but I warn you, that restraint will fade fast the more you are together. And if he hasn’t claimed you before your next heat, he most certainly will then. He won’t be able to resist.”

“I don’t know when my next heat will happen,” Rey responds with her own shrug. Surprisingly, she’s not bothered by the doctor’s assertions of her claiming countdown. A part of her thrills at the idea that her Alpha will leave his mark sooner than later.

“Oh, that’s right! I almost forgot the most important part,” Dr. Kalonia exclaims, shuffling through the clutter before pulling out a file from one of the myriad stacks on her desk. “Whew! It looks like your chosen method of birth control is a copper IUD, is that still correct?”

Rey nods affirmatively. Hormonal birth control always did a number on her moods and body, and she feels it’s hard enough to remember her suppressant pill. The copper IUD seemed like the easiest and cheapest solution when she entered college.

“There is no data on how birth control affects OTP couples. You’re abnormally—to modern standards—hardwired to reproduce. I would be more concerned if you were on hormonal birth control as it is not designed for the changes your hormones will complete during the claiming process. I can’t promise the IUD will do any better, though.”

“Fantastic,” Rey snaps. Kids are not in her five-year plan right now. Of course, being an OTP Omega destined to be claimed by an Alpha in a fake relationship with another Omega he also seems destined to claim also is not in her five-year plan.

“I guess that makes two drawbacks to being an OTP couple. I’m sorry, Rey, but this aspect is outside of current medical abilities, short of removing vital reproductive organs. OTP couples do tend to have large families.”

Large families. That’s not something Rey has experience with in her life. What kind of mother will she be? Is she capable of handling one kid, let alone multiple? She has no family background to pull from when it comes to caring for kids. And that thought leads her back to something Ben mentioned about Omegas being born from Alpha-Omega pairings.

“How am I an OTP Omega if I’m not a pure Omega?”

“I don’t know, Rey. That’s not a question I can answer at this time, perhaps ever. My research didn’t specify if any of the OTP couples were pure or mixed designations.” Rey nods, feeling defeated. She can’t help but wonder if that answer would have given her further insight into her own parentage. Mind still reeling from all of the information thrown at her in the past hour—and week—Rey gives a somewhat cheery farewell to the doctor and heads home, texting Finn along the way.

Dr. Kalonia means well with her advice to stay away from the ball, but Rey’s not sure she can do that now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love canon-Rey, because deep down she's a romantic who sticks to her convictions, even when she's wrong. She does everything big: right, wrong, or indifferent. I just love that about her character; her sentiment, her heart, her romantic ideals of love and family. I am trying to instill those aspects into my Rey, while also adding a touch of realism. Jealousy and selfishness can be seen as bad, corrosive emotions/mindsets, but they can also be the layer within which we hide our true intentions and emotions. I hope this comes across in this story, but especially this chapter. For the record, Rey is being selfish about the claiming issue, but she's RIGHT to be selfish! And it's not really selfish, now is it? ;)
> 
> Also, I have no clue how to end chapters. I feel like everything flows until it's time to make that graceful exit... and I'm not graceful. *shrugs shoulders*
> 
> I've joined Tumblr! Look me up, I'm under the same name as this account. :-)


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This was an unexpectedly rough week. I'm so sorry it took so long to get this update out to you. I hope it makes the wait worth it. :) Let's just remember this in an A/B/O fic, and part of the fun of this genre is down and dirty sex that's kind of inconvenient. Lol
> 
> This chapter can be summed up like this:
> 
> Everyone but Rose: Rey, NO.  
> Rey and Rose: Rey, YES!  
> Everyone but Rose: Ok, but don't do the thing.  
> Rey: *does the thing*  
> Everyone but Rose: *face palm*  
> Rose: *pumping her fist and shouting "whoop whoop" ala Pretty Woman*
> 
> Yep, so that's basically the chapter. Enjoy! ;)

“Are you sure this is a good idea, Peanut?”

“Stop asking her that question,” Rose growls in mock-anger that fails to diminish her easy smile. She’s putting the finishing touches on Rey’s makeup while Finn crowds the tiny bathroom with his indignation at being pushed out of the conversation. Rey tries, and fails, to contain a giggle as she sits on the toilet lid, clad only in her old bathrobe, so her new bestie can finish her masterpiece.

Rey was surprised when Finn arrived at her apartment with the petite, dark-haired girl in tow, but she didn’t protest when Rose immediately offered to help her get ready. As far as Rose was concerned, there was no question about what Rey was going to be doing tonight, even after Rey explained everything Dr. K had told her. And Rey decided then and there that she needed to hang out with Rose a little bit more often. She’s always enjoyed hanging out with her on the handful of occasions they’ve done so in the past. It’s time to expand her life beyond Finn and Poe and work.

A short time later, Rey walks shyly into the living room to show off her finished look for Finn and Rose, who are so deep in conversation they fail to notice her entrance. She clears her throat nervously. Where’s the confidence she felt last weekend when she was getting ready to go out to the bar? Finn’s whistle of appreciation pulls her from the doubts circling in her head.

She bought the outfit months ago, knowing even then that there was a chance she would see Ben at the ball. This ball was always going to be a reunion of sorts for her and her wayward Alpha. The floor-length, black sequined dress features a plunging neckline, that would appear more scandalous if it weren’t for the scrap of black mesh near the tip of the V neckline, and an open back from her shoulder straps to the dimples in her lower back. The sequins form a scalloped, mermaid’s tail design meant to accentuate the more feminine curves of her body. It clings to her like a glove, hinting at too much flesh without ever crossing the line. Tastefully sinful, the salesgirl had said with a smirk. Rey paired it with a pair of shiny scarlet red stiletto heels that she had been practicing walking in for months now.

Soft ringlets cascade down her back, framing the exaggerated doe-eyed and pink lipped look Rose created on her face. Her face is all neutral Omega innocence while her outfit is pure Alpha minx. Or hellcat, given Rey’s mood. And her mood right now is split between strutting into the ball and right into Ben’s arms—and lips—or ripping off the outfit and pouting in her sweats while eating a gallon of ice cream. But she’s never been one to back down from a fight and her inner hellcat wins.

“Wow, Peanut, you look stunning,” Finn gulps, eyes trailing down and back up to take in the pretty picture she presents. “I almost feel sorry for Ben.”

“You are the sexiest Omega I have ever seen,” Rose enthuses, giving Rey an exaggerated wink with her double thumbs-up. Rose makes a good point. Omegas are never meant to appear sexy. Enchantingly innocent and primly beautiful—sure. But never sexy or sultry; those two looks are firmly in the female Alpha’s territory. Rey is a beguiling mix of the two, her very DNA refusing to be defined or pigeon-holed by societal norms.

“Thank you,” Rey breathes as she runs her hands over the cool sequins running over her hips.

“The car will be here any minute. Here’s your hotel key,” Rose babbles excitedly, producing a plastic card from her pocket and slipping it into Rey’s simple black clutch. Rey stares at the clutch in her hand. This is the part about tonight she’s not sure she’s comfortable with yet. Rose had insisted it was ok, that this was an olive branch of sorts. Valerie and Paige want to help in any way that they can, so they paid for a town car to drive Rey around for the night, and a room at the hotel where the ball is being held… for whatever purposes she should decide she needs the room, though Rey is certain she understands the true meaning. Valerie is giving Ben and Rey the space they need to come together as a couple. The true reason behind the other Omega’s absence at the ball begins to sink in. Rey blinks away the tears threatening to fall even as her heart swells with something akin to grateful at the generous gesture.

“Be careful, Peanut. Call me if you need _anything,_ ” Finn murmurs insistently into her ear as he wraps her into his arms for a quick hug, letting go before the discomfort in her skin escalates at his touch. He mouths an ‘I love you’ as he backs away to the door and waits for Rose to follow.

“Go get your Alpha, Rey!” Rose shouts over her shoulder as she follows Finn out the door. And she can’t help but hear Valerie and Paige’s voices in Rose’s as she said it.

Yes, tonight, Rey will claim her Alpha.

  
______________________________________________________________________________  


Rey gasps with delight as she steps through the double doors and into the hotel’s ball room. It’s like stepping into another galaxy, one far, far away from the troubles of Earth. The cavernous room feels intimate with the subdued lighting and soft draping of sheer, gauzy fabrics from the ceiling and down the walls. Everywhere she looks are strings of lights, curving with the fabrics to create a soft glow in blues, reds and purples. It was like stepping into a nebula.

On the wall to the right hung the Alpha symbol in bold red lighting against the strings of soft white lights. On the opposite wall hung the Omega symbol in bold blue lighting. And above the stage set in the center of the far wall, the crowning focal point of the ball, the Alpha and Omega symbols merged in a beautifully soft but powerful purple hue. That same purple color was repeated in the table clothes, centerpieces and other ball décor. Everywhere Rey looked she could see a bold splash of purple to symbolize the merging of the two sides, the Alpha and Omega.

Throngs of people meander through the room, chatting and clinking glasses merrily with the beat of the bass thumping through the various speakers. The mood of the room is decidedly celebratory, and Rey feels a buzz of energy zip through her as she sips on her glass of rosé while walking through the outskirts of the party. She can’t help but smile as she gives herself over to the excitement in the air, closing her eyes and breathing deeply to let it sink deep into her bones. A shiver suddenly runs up her spine, causing goosebumps to follow in its wake. Her eyes startle open, her gaze immediately locking onto the dark eyes burning a path into her soul from across the room. Her tall, handsome Alpha dressed sharply in a tailored black tuxedo with a deep purple silk bowtie. His luxurious raven mane falling in soft waves that have Rey’s fingers itching to bury themselves into and pull.

_MyAlpha_

Rey shivers again, her core pulsing with heat as her dark and dangerous Alpha continues to eye her from across the room. His gaze blazes a path up and down her body, drinking in her appearance like a man parched in a desert. Even from across the room, even in this dimly lit interior, she can see how his pupils bleed into his irises, until his whisky colored eyes are black with desire. He’s white-knuckling the drink in his hand so hard Rey’s concerned it will shatter at any moment.

The tall, pale red-headed man beside him finally realizes Ben isn’t listening and follows his gaze to Rey, sneering at her in obvious disdain. The pale man resumes talking and whatever he says gets Ben’s attention this time. He tears his eyes from hers just long enough to growl a reply—a reply that has the red-head sputtering in obvious shock—before shoulder checking the man as he stalks over to Rey. He doesn’t even try to hide that he only has eyes for her, and Rey’s heart soars.

Consequences be damned tonight. Ben wants her, and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure it out with the way he’s staring intensely at her as he bypasses one woman after another as they desperately throw themselves in his path to get his attention. They don’t even slow him down; his lumbering stride remains true as he crosses the room to her. She shifts her stance, so her body is facing him as he approaches, the air shifting as he enters her orbit. She inhales deeply, pulling his musky, spicy scent deep into her lungs. His nostrils flare as he does the same, and he whimpers in response to her scent. It’s soft and impossibly delicate, the slightest of masculine sounds, but Rey feels it down into her very center. The noise of the party dims around them, her world narrowing to just the man standing in front of her.

Thank the Gods she had the presence of mind to put on running tights instead of underwear beneath her dress. She’s already soaked through and her flimsy black lace panties, while certainly sexier, would have been a ruined and worthless mess by now. How is she supposed to make it through the entire ball?

They hang suspended in silence as they soak in each other’s presence, the air between them pregnant with unspoken desire and anticipation. She wants to do and say so many things right now. To reach up and gently brush the strands of hair falling into one of his dark eyes, to caress his cheek tenderly as she confesses that she loves him—truly, madly, deeply. She wants to card her hands into his hair and sink her claws in as she pulls his lips to hers for a bruising kiss that leaves no question as to her claim on him. She wants to blurt out their fate as an OTP couple and beg him to claim her, right here and right now. That sense of protection she felt towards their coupling during her heat having evaporated in the heat of this _need_ pulsing within the marrow of her bones.

Dr. Kalonia was so right.

But it’s too late now.

She watches with wide eyes as he slowly lifts a trembling hand to cup her face. His hand is big and warm and safe. Her eyelids flutter closed as she nuzzles into his hand instinctively, taking a shaky step closer to her future.

“Rey” he breathes, his normally silky voice rough with emotion and sharp with desire. Before she can reply, Ben suddenly jolts forward, his hand ripping from contact with her skin, and the spell is broken. A cacophony of sound assaults her ears as the world comes rushing back.

A tipsy woman totters dangerously in her pumps as she bounces off Ben’s broad back, having collided with him just a moment before. He deftly moves to catch the woman, who thanks him profusely in surprisingly crystal-clear speech. Her spilled drink drips down the back of Ben’s tuxedo jacket and he sighs as he removes the ruined article of clothing from his back. Rey sends a silent thank you above for the moment of clarity afforded by the interruption. She was only seconds away from all but begging Ben to rut her in this room full of partygoers.

Now she has a chance to ask him to follow her up to her room and rut her there instead, like the responsible Omega she knows she can be.

“I have a room upstairs, if you want to come with me. To rinse off your jacket,” she offers casually, or she hopes it sounds casual to the people gathering around them; random people offering advice such as using seltzer water to get the red wine out of his jacket.

“Sure, sounds like a good idea. Thank you, Rey,” he replies in monotone, not meeting her eyes. He’s trying to remain composed, she can tell. His hands are still shaking, and she knows it’s taking everything in him not to roar at the people crowding them and then throw her over his shoulder as he stomps out of the room. She pushes down the voice in her head swooning at the thought of being thrown over the broad shoulders of her Alpha, but she can’t fight the blush creeping up her cheeks and down her neck.

They somehow manage to exit the ballroom without running into anyone they know, like Leia or Snoke. Seriously, where are those two? Isn’t this their big night? Ben guides her to the bank of elevator doors, his big warm hand making contact with the exposed skin at the small of her back. There’s a moment of confusion as the doors glide shut and Ben doesn’t select of floor button. She’s too busy marveling over the sheer size of his hand hovering over the buttons to see him looking at her expectantly.

“Your room?” He asks softly, lips quirking into a small at the corners.

“Oh, right. Let me see,” she squeaks as she digs around her clutch. The darn thing is not much bigger than her hand, but the slippery room key evades her search. Finally, she wraps her fingers around the key and yanks it out with a whoop of glee. Ben chuckles as she sheepishly reads the room number out loud and he turns to punch the number 15.

Her head is still bent forward as she places the key back into her clutch, so she doesn’t see the blur of movement that is Ben moving her back against one of the elevator walls. The clutch slips through her fingers, falling to the floor with a soft thud as he grasps each of her wrists with one of his hands and pins them high above her head. She gasps in surprise and it is all the invitation he needs to claim her mouth with his, his lips devouring hers as his tongue plunges into her mouth over and over again. Rey mewls into his mouth in response, back arching sharply, desperate for friction and contact with his body. He’s all too eager to answer her need and he crushes her body into the wall with his own, grinding his hips into hers, his rigid length rubbing just above her clothed mound, mere centimeters away from the aching bud at the apex of her thighs.

When she picked out the stiletto heels, she never considered the effect it would have on their height difference.

He brings his other hand up to wrap around her neck, careful not to apply pressure, the blunt ends of his fingertips caressing the pulsing scent gland on the side of her neck. Rey whimpers desperately in the back of her throat, tilting her head to give him better access without breaking their kiss.

_ImyoursAlphaallyoursAlphaplease_

Ben practically _purrs_ in response, his chest rumbling against hers in a long, low, drawn out sound that she feels more than hears.

The elevator ding signaling their arrival on the 15th floor is something they both hear, fortunately. Rey kneels to quickly grab the fallen clutch. This time, Ben does pick her up, but he doesn’t sling her over his shoulder like she anticipated. He sweeps her up into a bridal carry instead, stomping down the hall without breaking eye contact with her; his eyes full of carnal promises of what’s to come once he gets her behind closed doors. Her cunt clenches and she can feel more of her slick drip into her tights.

“I can smell you, little Omega,” Ben growls. “Gods, I’m going to fuck you so hard you won’t be able to stand when I’m done with you.”

Rey leans up and latches her mouth on his scent gland, sucking hard and making him stumble, his grip tightening so he doesn’t drop her. She releases his gland, licking a wet hot stripe over it before locking eyes with him.

“No. I’m going to ride you so hard you won’t remember your own name, and then I’m going to bite your scent gland and claim you Benjamin Solo,” she promises with a purr. He stumbles again, muttering an emphatic “fuck” as he pulls his arm out from under legs and crashes them into the wall, his lips searing hers in a heated kiss.

“Say it again,” he moans between kisses, his hips bucking into hers as she buries her hands into his thick mane of hair.

“I’m going to claim you, Benjamin Solo,” she pants into his lips. He’s kissing her so hard her lips feel swollen and bruised. She can already feel his knot swelling through his pants. Oh, Gods, he’s so close. Rey shivers with pleasure at the power to render this powerful Alpha to such a debauched state so quickly.

He yanks his head back, peering down at her through heavy-lidded eyes, eyes burning feverishly bright.

“Yes,” he husks with a nod, and she understands his intention loud and clear.

Somehow, they manage to stumble into her room without tearing into each other in the hall. In the back of her mind, she makes a mental note to thank the girls. The room is beautiful, spacious and elegant. Dark woods and creamy linens, a wall of floor to ceiling windows giving them a glittering view of the city below off one side of the bed. On the tufted settee at the foot of the bed sits a bottle of champagne in an ice bucket, along with two flutes and a note.

They don’t care about the champagne. It’s all they can do to make it to the bed without ripping each other’s clothes off. Rey’s shoes lay scattered on the floor where she kicked them off and Ben does the same, toeing his heel out and then kicking his shoes off the rest of the way. He yanks his pants and boxers off at the same time, leaving him in only his socks and button-down shirt, and his silky purple bow tie. He sinks to his knees, his hands disappearing beneath her dress to reach up and pull down her running tights. Then he’s pushing her back onto the bed, hiking her dress up to her waist, and spreading her legs impatiently before latching his mouth onto her hot, wet center. She cries out hoarsely as sharp pleasure curls through her core.

He tongues her slit from her dripping opening to her aching clit, circling it tightly before licking her again. The tension in her abdomen builds with delicious intensity until she’s bucking her hips up into his mouth, hands tugging painfully on his hair to keep his lips exactly where she needs them. Her climax ripples through her body like a wave crashing onto shore at high tide and she screams his name as it takes her down. Ben works her gently through the last shudders of her pleasure before climbing up her body and positioning himself between her legs.

“No,” she croaks weakly, placing both hands on his chest and pushing him over onto his back. She takes a moment to breathe before straddling his hips. She shrugs her shoulders out of her straps and pulls the dress up and over her head, letting it fall heavily to the floor behind her. Then she slowly, purposefully unbuttons Ben’s shirt, from the bottom to the top before motioning for him to take it off. Only once he’s lying naked beneath her does she move to position her dripping core over his throbbing cock.

“Who do you belong to, Alpha?” She murmurs silkily. Rey smirks as his pupils blow wide at her words.

“You, only you,” he pants beneath her, his hips straining to impale her. She pushes down on his chest with one hand as she uses the other to run the weeping tip of his cock through her folds. He moans deeply and desperately.

“Prove it,” she challenges with a growl. His hands reach up to grip her hips, his fingertips practically touching along her back. He squeezes her hard enough to bruise before pushing her down onto his cock. She lets him.

“Claim me, little Omega,” he grunts, sheathing her to the hilt on his cock. He digs his fingers into her soft flesh as he moves her hips in a figure eight. “Bite my scent gland and show them all I belong to you, baby.”

Rey tilts her head back and keens for him as the tip of him mashes into that special spot just in front of her cervix. It hurts so good. She leans heavily on his chest, panting. He’s so deep inside her and she can’t tell where she ends, and he begins anymore. It’s all blurring together now into a haze of mindless pleasure.

She pushes off of his chest, resting her hands over his and begins to bounce on his cock, tilting her hips with each downward stroke so he hits that spot deep inside her that only he can reach. Her thighs are burning with exertion, but she doesn’t slow her rhythm. Ben grips her tight as he begins to thrust up into her, grunting with the effort, his hair sticking in the sweat beading along his forehead.

“Play with your tits baby,” he begs roughly, and she is quick to obey him, bringing her little hands up to massage the globes of her breasts, rolling her dusky pink nipples between her thumb and fingers and whimpering prettily at the sensation. Her Alpha roars beneath her as his knot begins to catch with each thrust. “Fuck!”

Rey rocks down into his hips as their bodies move together faster and rougher. The need pulsing in her bones is frantic for the finish line. She clutches at Ben’s shoulders, her nails digging in sharply as she leans on his chest with her elbows, rocking her hips so her clit is rubbing against his lower abdomen. She grunts and pants with the effort as she chases her second orgasm.

“Take it, take it all, baby. _Fuck,_ you take me so well,” Ben moans into her ear. He’s shifting his legs to dig his heels into the bed for more leverage to fuck into her with faster, rougher strokes. With an animal cry, Rey rears back and sinks forcefully onto Ben’s knot, grinding her hips down to bury him so deep he can’t pull out anymore.

“Mine,” she grunts, circling her hips as she bears down, rubbing his expanding knot along that spot in her inner wall. “ _Mine, mine, mine,_ ” she chants with each twitch of her hips. Her release explodes from her core, her cunt clenching almost painfully around Ben’s knot as her walls flutter in pure, ecstatic pleasure. With a growl she dives down to his bury her head into his shoulder, her nose rooting around for his scent gland. He smells like musky spice, with a hint of vanilla that wasn’t there before. Her mouth waters at the smell, her chest rumbling with a possessive growl that has Ben groaning and clutching her to him in a vice-like embrace.

“Do it, _mate,_ ” he pants in her ear.

Rey’s lips pull back as she bares her teeth in a snarl before burying her teeth into the tender flesh of Ben’s throbbing scent gland. He howls with pain and pleasure, his body shuddering and his hips bucking into her, pushing his knot impossibly deeper until the head of his cock is mashing directly into her cervix. She bites down harder at the sharp pain in her core, growling and shaking her head slightly. Her lizard brain has taken over and conscious thought is a fantasy now.

_MYALPHAMYALPHAMYALPHA_

Her Alpha voice is screeching in her head as she sucks at the blood seeping around her teeth with each beat of Ben’s heart. But she doesn’t let go of her bite, she just continues to growl low in her chest, her tongue laving at the bruising flesh in her mouth. She’s vaguely aware that she’s still grinding herself onto Ben’s cock, and his cock is now pulsing his spend directly into her cervix. He’s sobbing beneath her, chanting her name between breaths as his knot throbs through an extended orgasm. Every muscle in his body is trembling with pleasure as her bite prolongs his release beyond anything he’s ever experienced before.

They remain locked together, Ben’s knot keeping him buried securely within her body, and Rey’s teeth sunk deep into Ben’s scent gland. Rey swallows the blood that pools in her mouth, the taste of him oddly sweet to her taste buds. She squeals a small sound of delight as she greedily sucks more of his blood, savoring the sweet taste of vanilla before each swallow. When at last the blood flow slows to a trickle, she gently extracts her teeth as Ben hisses. She pauses a moment to admire her handy work; taking in the bruising purple ring forming around the bright red teeth marks in a perfect circle around his gland.

He is forever marked as hers now. A shiver of pleasure ripples through her body, causing Ben to moan softly as her inner walls flutter around his knot. Rey hums to herself as she leans back down to lave her tongue gently over the bite mark before sitting up, feeling like a queen sat upon her throne. She brings a hand up to wipe at a trickle of blood running down her chin, smearing the bright red fluid.

Ben Solo has never seen a more beautiful, intoxicating creature than his Rey sitting astride his cock like the fierce queen he knows her to be, his blood staining her teeth and lips as she smirks down at him.

“You belong to me, Benjamin Solo.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Assertive Rey is assertive! lol I fucking love what Rey did in this chapter so much. Go get yo man, honey!!! Don't worry, the angst train makes another appearance in the next chapter. Pesky consequences and all. 
> 
> Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. It was surprisingly difficult to write. Apparently angst and pain is more my speed than smut and destiny. Who knew? ;)
> 
> Can someone tell me how bookmarks work? I don't understand that number at all. lol


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A short, but sweet, update. A little angst, but nothing y'all can't handle.
> 
> This chapter was heavily influenced by Imagine Dragon's Next To Me. I effing love that band so damn much. So, happy LoveLoud Festival Day! If you don't know what I'm talking about, check out Dan Reynold's documentary on HBO called Believer. My husband and I watched it together and cried.

“ _I love you_.”

Rey tenses on the bed, head whipping toward the open bathroom door. Ben hovers between the two rooms, holding a damp wash cloth in one hand, naked, his still softening cock glistening with both of their bodily fluids. He is a Greek statue, carved in marble, his rough edges smoothed away by time and persistence. The disarming vulnerability of his face stands in sharp contrast to the lean, hard lines of his body. Everything about this man’s heart is protected beneath lean muscle but offered up for her consumption by his trembling lips and expressive eyes that hide nothing when it comes to her.

She is everything to him; it is written in his soul and reflected through is eyes in this moment. In the half-second it takes for her to inhale his declaration, the realization crystalizes in her mind that this man, her Alpha, truly belongs to her beyond this physical plane of existence. Blinking rapidly, trying vainly to hold back the flood of tears threatening to spill at any moment, Rey rises from the bed on shaky legs. This is it, the moment she has fantasized about for 10 years. This is the moment her Ben declares his undying love and devotion, the moment he will bite her and claim her at last, and they will ride off into the sunset together to begin their happily ever after.

But first, she needs to clean the river of warm cum slithering down both legs now that gravity has become a factor again. Ben just spent the better part of thirty minutes filling her with his seed, his knot pulsing through a seemingly never-ending climax. She had done her best to soothe her Alpha by licking his scent gland and murmuring praises, but he had whimpered and moaned pitifully beneath her until his body was drained dry. A shiver of lust takes hold as she wonders what it will be like when he returns her claiming bite, imagining her Alpha losing himself to the primal, erotic throes of claiming his mate. She remembers—in vivid detail—what it was like with him when he lost himself to his Alpha instincts during their heat-rut.

Ben’s long legs stretch to close the distance between them, falling to his knees before her to gently clean himself from her legs, taking care at the apex of her thighs to dab gently at the over sensitive and puffy area. Rey can’t help it, she hisses at the sting as the fibers from the cloth glide over her skin.

“I’m so sorry, my sweet mate,” he whispers into her skin as he leaves a trail of soft kisses along her inner thighs. Rey sighs above him, enjoying the gesture of comfort without the spike of desire she’s come to expect with his touch. This is a pleasant buzz warming her belly like a bowl of warm soup on a cold night, instead of a zap of fiery heat. She could get used to this treatment. He straightens on his knees to wrap his arms around her middle, nuzzling into her stomach, just above her naval.

“I love you,” he repeats firmly.

“I love you, too,” she answers huskily, one hand coming up to cup the side of his face while the other runs through his thick mane of hair.

They remain this way for several minutes, or maybe it’s hours, before Ben guides her back to the rumpled bed. He covers her body with his as his lips brush over hers softly, at first. His tongue seeks entrance with a swipe against the seam of her lips and she is quick to comply, parting her lips and accepting his tongue into her mouth greedily. As he deepens the kiss his hand roams the curves of her body before dipping gently between her legs. He carefully begins to scoop some of the cum still leaking from her sensitive folds before rubbing it into her skin… into her thighs, the curve of her belly, around her nipples and up the swell of her breasts, until he dips into her one last time and brings his wet fingers up to rub himself into her scent gland, leaving Rey a trembling and whimpering mess beneath him. When her Alpha is satisfied with the mix of their scents on her body, he nudges her onto her side, so he can wrap his big, warm body around hers like a shield. He tugs the end of the duvet and pulls it over their bodies, tucking her into his side and the blanket, his chest vibrating a soothing purring sound that soon lulls them to sleep.

  
  
  
  


Rey blinks blearily against the lights of the room, shifting minutely under the warm weight of Ben’s body to turn her head and identify the incessant buzzing sound that tore her from slumber. She elbows the loudly snoring—seriously, how had she slept so peacefully through the noise emanating from Ben’s throat—Alpha keeping her locked in place in his embrace.

“Wake up, Ben,” she says, rocking back into him in an effort to dislodge herself.

It doesn’t work.

Her big Ben sleeps like the dead.

“Ben! Wake up,” she hisses. There’s a brief pause in the buzzing sound before it resumes. She swears it’s getting louder. She can’t see a clock from her current position, but she suspects they’ve been missing from the ball for far longer than is discreet. Rey breaks into a cold sweat as the potential consequences of their actions come crashing down. “Fuck!”

Rey’s not one to cuss, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Muttering a brisk “sorry” under her breath, she wiggles her arm under Ben’s and slides her hand down to the half-hard cock poking into her back. It twitches in her grasp, but she’s not interested in nurturing that response at the moment. She keeps moving her hand down until she meets the soft, squishy bump of his knot at the base of his cock. Throwing out another apology, she squeezes—not too hard, she’s not interested in harming one of her favorite parts of his body, mind you.

Ben wakes with a grunt and a buck of his hips into her back as she yanks her hand back up and away.

“Sorry! But you need to let go, Ben. Someone’s calling one of us and we’ve been gone from the ball for too long,” she stammers nervously. He lets loose a string of curses behind her, his breath tickling the side of her face. But he lets go, reluctantly, rolling out of bed and shuffling over to his pants to pull his buzzing phone from one of the pockets.

“Fuck! It’s my mother,” he announces with a clenched jaw, his other hand tightening into a fist at his side. He’s just standing there, glaring at the phone as if that will somehow make it stop ringing.

“Answer it,” she hisses, scrambling out of the bed to throw her dress back over her head. There’s dried cum on her inner thighs and more leaking from her between her legs. She rolls her eyes hard as she yanks her running tights on. They really didn’t think this through.

“Mother,” he answers in a clipped tone as he pulls on his boxers and pants. He strides over to the sliding door at the end of the wall of windows, pulling it open and stepping out onto the balcony to take the call. Rey would feel hurt if she had the luxury of feeling anything but nervous dread right now. Whatever he has to say to his mother can be said in front of her. She’s his mate. She’s claimed him, and he’s claimed her… almost.

She’s stepping out of the bathroom, her appearance set back to rights, when he walks back into their room. He seems surprisingly calm, almost relieved. She raises her eyebrows at him.

“It’s ok, we haven’t been gone long enough to cause too much suspicion. Snoke knows we’re up here together,” he relays casually. Rey’s heart freezes to ice in her chest.

“H-he knows?” Rey manages in a stunned whisper. Ben sighs heavily, tossing his phone onto the bed and sinking down onto its corner.

“We weren’t exactly subtle, Rey,” he barks sardonically. “Hux saw us leave together and there’s a tracker on my phone. They know I haven’t left the hotel. For what it’s worth, Snoke is driving my mother insane with innuendo about it right now. But no one else seems to have put it together yet.” Ben shrugs.

“I suppose that’s a blessing, but what must Leia think,” she whines. But then again, what does it matter what Leia, or anybody else, thinks. Ben’s neck is a loud proclamation of what they have been doing together, of what they mean together. Does anything else about it really matter?

As if reading her mind, Ben rushes to respond. “Hey, hey, it doesn’t matter. None of what’s going on outside this room matters.” And then he’s pulling her into his chest, his arms wrapping protectively around her, shielding her from the inside out. It takes less than a minute for her to relax into his arms, her mind going quiet as instincts tell her that this Alpha means safety and comfort and home. She sighs, nuzzling into his still bare chest, inhaling deeply.

“The only thing that matters, my sweet mate, is that you have claimed me. I’ve always been yours and I will always be only yours,” he murmurs into her hair. “I want to claim you right now, you have no idea, baby. But I’m afraid.”

Rey frowns up at him, her brows knitting quizzically. He reaches up to cup one side of her face in his hand, his thumb rubbing soft circles into her cheek.

“My sweet, little mate,” he croons lowly. “When I claim you, it will be intense, and I won’t be able to restrain myself. You will need more time to recover than we have tonight.” And if it weren’t for the deadly serious look in his eyes, she would think this is just his Alpha ego talking.

“I’m not made of glass, Ben, you won’t break me,” she huffs. He smirks at her response.

“You are the fiercest person I know, Rey. I’m not worried about breaking you, but there will be pain. I’m a pure Alpha and you bring out animal instincts I struggle to control. You remember that time during our heat-rut?”

Rey nods. She knows exactly what he’s referring to.

Ben hums deep in his chest. “It will be like that but… _more_. And I remember how you felt about that time after it was done. I don’t want you to feel like that when it’s time to claim you. I don’t want you to regret it,” his voice trails off towards the end. His eyes shine with unshed tears and shimmering emotion.

“Oh, Ben, my love,” she sighs, bringing her hand up to cover the one cupping her face. “I will _never_ regret being claimed by you. I want it; however, you give it to me, I want it. That time from before was such an overwhelming surprise and we hadn’t seen each other in so long… it wasn’t all bad. I liked it, but it was unexpected, and I didn’t know how to get you to pull back a little. I know now, and I trust you.”

Ben squeezes his eyes shut, a single tear escaping from one eye. Rey reaches up to wipe it away and Ben leans into her touch with a soft mewling sound. Her gentle giant, trembling with emotion, needy for her acceptance and love.

“But you won’t be able to get me to pull back during a claiming bite; that’s what I’m afraid of. Safe words and Omega commands won't work,” he whispers, his eyes still shut tight.

“Ben, it’s okay. As long as we talk about it, like we’re doing right now, it will be ok. We just have to communicate, babe,” she offers with a small smile. Does he understand that she doesn’t expect perfection? Perhaps he doesn’t. She needs to make him understand that as long as they do this, as long as they share with each other, everything else will be okay.

“You’re okay with me losing control, of letting go of my human side and _taking_ you and… and ripping into your throat, because I am not,” he counters hoarsely.

“Is-is that how you feel about what I just did to you?”

“What? No! No, not at all. I loved it, fucking _loved_ everything about what you did,” he rushes to explain.

“Ok, then. I know I will too. You know I can give it, so make me take it,” she challenges. And does that ever stop her Alpha in his tracks. She smiles coyly up at the dumbfounded expression on his face. “When my Alpha feels the time is right,” she amends.

“What?” He clearly wasn’t expecting her to give up so easily on the matter.

“Ben, we should sit down. There’s something we need to talk about,” she says, swallowing stiffly.

“What?”

“Sit down first.”

“Why?”

Rey sighs, frustrated. Of course, her stubborn Alpha wouldn’t make this easy for her. “I’ve been claimed already, Ben. I don’t need your bite to be claimed.”

She realizes her mistake almost immediately and parts her lips to assure him she means claimed by him only, but he’s reacting before she can blink. The growl vibrating from his chest is unlike anything she’s ever heard and the icy stab of fear in her abdomen has her shaking in response. In an embrace reminiscent of their first meeting at the marathon, he locks her into his chest with one arm, the other coming up to yank her hair off her neck and pull her head to the side, forcing her to expose her scent gland.

Her obviously untouched scent gland.

That the idiot oaf had just been rubbing his cum into not that long ago.

“Really, Ben,” she exclaims.

He only growls louder in response, nosing at her scent gland and breathing deeply before making a chuffing noise. He’s tasting her scent. He’s never done that before, not even during her heat.

“Oh, for Maker’s sake, Ben! You’ve seen my scent gland isn’t marked and you were just rubbing your cum into it. Knock it off,” she grits out in frustration as she tries to shove him off her, but there’s no moving the steel band that is his arm right now. In fact, he doesn’t budge a centimeter. His growl deepens further still and it’s doing funny things to her brain.

_Alphaisdispleased_

_BadOmega_

_SootheyourAlpha_

Rey clenches her jaw as she fights against instinct to lick Ben’s scent gland and rub her face against his skin. He’s being an ass and she’s not going to placate him or encourage this nonsense. But it’s taking everything in her to fight the increasingly noisy instinct to comfort her Alpha. It’s a fight she cannot win.

With an angry grunt, Rey launches herself up onto her tiptoes and manages to lick the edge of his scent gland before rubbing her forehead on it. His reaction is swift and complete; the growl cuts off immediately and he releases her from his arms, shuffling back until his legs hit the edge of the bed. But his eyes are black from his blown pupils and he’s panting like a runner who’s just crossed the finished line.

“Explain yourself. _Now_ ,” he grunts, flecks of saliva sailing through the air from his quivering lips.

It’s an Alpha command.

_AlphaisangryAlphaisangryAlphaisangry_

The voice in her head is screaming, drowning out any rational thought Rey could muster. Ben’s never given her an Alpha command. She could kick herself for being so utterly stupid when he had just told her how hard he has to work to control his animal instincts around her. And nothing is more animal instinct than an Alpha guarding his claim on his Omega.

“We’re a One-True-Pair mated pair. It’s rare, but I’ve been tested by Dr. Kalonia and she told me today all about the research she did. Claiming works differently for us. You claimed me when you came in me at the Heat Tent—every time you cum in me, actually. You change my scent and it causes discomfort and pain when Alphas, even some Betas, touch me. Dr. K says I’m showing signs of change down to my DNA. I’m already claimed by _you_ , Ben. Just you,” she babbles excitedly.

Ben’s mouth twitches, a hint of a smile ghosting across his lips at her news. “Really?”

Rey nods frantically. “Yes, we’re fated, you and I. No one else can claim either of us, and we can’t claim anyone else,” she begins. Ben motions for Rey to join him on the bed, breaking the Alpha command hold. They sit together, side-by-side, holding hands as she tells him everything she can remember from her meeting with Dr. Kalonia today, and the first meeting with her after the heat-rut was finished.

Ben blows a puff of air from pursed lips when she’s finished. He squeezes her hand three times. “That’s a lot to take in,” he breathes.

“I know,” she replies softly, returning his hand squeezes.

“This changes everything.”

“I know,” she repeats. She knows he’s about to tell her he won’t claim Valerie anymore. She braces herself for the inevitable disappointment she’s going to feel when it becomes clear he has come to this conclusion because of their OTP status, and not because she asked him not to.

“I wasn’t going to claim Valerie,” he blurts into the silence. “After our talk, I discussed it with Valerie and we met with my mother and the CIA liaison for this mission today. We are going to go a medical route using an imprint of my teeth and a sample of my hormones and saliva protein markers; it’s tricky and risky for many reasons—there’s no guarantee it would take, the timing is delicate depending on what Snoke expects. The details aren’t important right now. But I wasn’t going to actually bite her myself,” he confesses.

“Ben—”

“Wait. Just hear me out, first. I changed my mind about how to help Valerie, but I didn’t change my mind about helping her. I’m still going to help her, Rey; because I made a promise and I can’t be the man you deserve if I go back on my word,” he declares firmly.

Rey nods, because it’s the only response she can give. She can see how much it means to him to earn the belonging that he seeks with her, and she wants to give him that chance.

“You should know, Valerie also changed her mind about the plan. She’s not mad at me because I won’t physically claim her myself anymore… she’s mad because I even agreed to this part of the plan in the first place. She knew how much I cared for you, about our past together as kids and how I wanted you to be The One for me, but Finn and Poe filled her in on your side of things, apparently. And she’s angry with me for not being completely honest with the extent of my feelings for you. She doesn’t understand how I could agree to claim her. She sounded a lot like you when she was yelling at me,” Ben laughs sharply at this admission and Rey chuckles while simultaneously rolling her eyes. As much as it pleases her to hear that Valerie is finally coming from a place of reason, she looks forward to a day when that Omega will not longer have any kind of influence over Ben. It needs to happen yesterday.

“She shouldn’t have even suggested it when she knew that you wanted me to be The One, but I’ll give her credit for trying to right that wrong now,” Rey says cheekily, trying to take the edge out of her words. “Why not go the medical route all along?”

Ben lets out a long sigh. “I didn’t think that route would work. She only ever wanted to be claimed to stay safe from other Alphas once we were done pretending to be a couple. She can’t get an obviously medical claiming bite or our cover with Snoke would be blown apart. Honestly, we are kind of hoping he’ll be satisfied with the proposal to hand over the company, but I’m not so sure that will happen. Look, I’m still not convinced the medical option will work, the failure rate is absurdly high, but everyone has agreed to it. But it sounds like I won’t even be able to offer that option, so I don’t know what we are going to do,” he mutters glumly, slouching forward with another sigh.

It finally clicks for Rey as to just why Ben feels so strongly about helping Valerie. His Alpha instincts are skewed towards protection; she can see that now. She can see how everything he has done has been from a viewpoint of trying to protect those around him that he cares about. And she can’t fault him for caring about Valerie. In all honesty, she wouldn’t love Ben so much if he didn’t care so much, even though that caring has led him down a dark, complicated path. And while she’s not so certain she would feel so magnanimous about the situation if Ben still insisted on biting Valerie himself, she’s able to at least concede she was wrong about wanting Ben to simply walk away from the Omega.

“What about another Alpha? What if we found another Alpha who would be willing to claim her? Or at the very least hand over a sample of his hormones and protein markers? They can still use an impression of your teeth, that’s not going to affect anything,” she offers excitedly. It’s brilliant and simple.

“Because she won’t have my scent. Snoke will be able to smell the difference. We’ve thought about that already,” comes his gruff rejoinder.

“Oh,” she mumbles. Now it’s her turn to sigh. If you had told her a week ago that she would be trying to brainstorm how to get her Alpha’s scent permanently injected into Valerie, she would have clawed someone’s eyes out for even hinting at it. But here she is, trying to puzzle out the answer all the same. Life’s funny like that. “Well, Dr. Kalonia mentioned that her scent would change for a few days, depending on her immune system’s ability to fight off your protein markers. So, her scent would change for a short while. Maybe that’s all we need.”

Ben looks over at her, his eyes shining brightly. He offers a wavering smile and another squeeze of his hand on hers. “Thank you for understanding, Rey.” She returns his smile.

“I love you, Ben. We’re going to find a way through this. Together.”

Rey squeaks in surprise when Ben scoops her into his lap. “Together,” he murmurs into her hair as he noses into her neck to breathe deeply at her scent gland.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Even Ben fights his instincts, it's not just Rey. I wanted to make it clear as to why Ben's not even tried to claim Rey. He's like a peanut M&M: hard outer shell, soft chocolate inside, with a hard and salty center. LOL!!!! Food and Reylo, the two things I crave most in life.
> 
> The next chapter will bring on the consequences. It was meant to happen in this chapter, but I decided to spend more time in the soft and fluffy domain of the hotel room. We all needed it.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Snoke finally makes an appearance. It does not go well, as you can imagine.

Rey makes her tastefully tardy appearance at the ball in time for the dinner portion of the event. She missed the cocktail hour—well, not really—and opening ceremonies, but everyone was too busy being buzzed on free drinks to notice. Except Leia, of course. It’s disconcerting to have the same dark-eyed intensity of her mate staring at her from the stern face of his mother, but that’s where Rey finds herself as she hastily seats herself across from Leia, face flaming and fidgeting with her dress to get comfortable. She can only hope it’s not too obvious what she’s been up to for the past couple of hours, even though Leia already knows, to a certain extent. Ben wisely chose to keep the claiming bite detail to himself. They had carefully arranged his hair before leaving their room, making sure it fell just so to keep his freshly bitten and bruised scent gland from prying eyes.

Sipping on the glass of wine at her setting, Rey allows her gaze to wander over Leia’s shoulder to the table of TFO executives. Ben’s seat is still conspicuously empty, and a flutter of fear starts in her belly. After one heated kiss too many in the empty hallway, she had pried herself away from Ben’s warmth to enter first, as they agreed. Her mate was supposed to follow shortly after; he should be seated already. The flutter of fear twists into a knot of dread as she observes his isn’t the only empty seat at the table. The red-headed man is also missing.

So is Snoke.

Rey can’t hide the look of alarm from her face before locking gazes with Leia, but her fearless leader gives her a reassuring nod, her pursed lips curving into a warm smile as she beckons Rey to follow her as she rises from her seat. She can only nod dumbly in response, grabbing at the napkin slipping from her lap when she stands to follow Leia. Rey mutters a shaky “be right back” to no one in particular; everyone’s focused on eating the salad and bread in a vain attempt to sober up before the evening’s speeches begin.

Leia leads her back out into the empty hallway that she and Ben had been recklessly making out in only moments before. She can make out a trio of tall, well-dressed men at the end of the hall, standing in front of a stunning print of Jackson Pollock’s “Mural”. Rey finds herself taken in by the crafted chaos of the myriad figures in the painting juxtaposed with the three men standing in fine black tuxedos in front of it.

“I had hoped to have this talk with you before the ball got started, but you didn’t respond to my email and you were otherwise occupied until this moment.” Leia’s gravelly voice sounds chagrined and amused at the same time; a skill honed over many years on the political circuit, no doubt. Rey blushes under the direct gaze of the petite powerhouse standing before her. She’s all too aware of just how much Leia knows about her being occupied with Ben in their hotel room.

“I’m so sorry, Leia. I had an appointment with Dr. K this afternoon and then I was, uh, distracted,” Rey stammers, eyes darting as the blush turns into a crimson wave of fire across her face. Leia reaches out to grasp one of Rey’s hands with both of hers and gives a warm squeeze. When Rey dares to glance at her boss again, she finds barely contained mirth twinkling in her eyes.

“It’s ok, my dear, I understand. I was young once, too.” Leia gives a conspiratorial wink at Rey before clearing her throat to continue, her countenance settling back into that of the determined leader. It makes Rey wonder if Leia is now more aware of just how fake Ben and Valerie’s relationship is, because her fearless leader seems to be taking the current situation of Rey and Ben a little too well. But there’s no time to explore that line of thought now.

“Tonight, I am pleased to announce that we will be partnering with TFO over legislation to solidify Omegas rights to consent during their heats. Snoke has had a change of heart. It would appear his pending date with death has softened his heart. I don’t believe it for a second, of course.”

Neither does Rey, not after everything she’s learned about the vile man over the last week.

“He’s really dying, then?” She blurts out before she can stop herself. Ben had mentioned something about Snoke dying, but she had assumed it had to do with old age.

“Yes. Cancer, though he’s vague about it. Anyway, aside from the legislation, he would like to help me transition Rebel Alliance into an Omega outreach program. RA began as an outreach program and it has always been my goal to steer it back to such once we made headway on the consent rights war. I hired you to get a jump start on that goal, but it would appear it has arrived far faster than I ever predicted,” Leia muses.

“This is good, right?” Rey can’t help but wonder if this means Ben is now free from the plan; everything comes back to Ben and the plan in her mind.

“On the surface, yes. I don’t trust the man an inch, but he seems sincere in his desire to help our cause now. His political influence is key, and he had the majority whip join our meeting this afternoon.” Leia pauses to glance quickly at the men still standing at the end of the hall. All three men are locked in discussion and haven’t noticed their presence yet. “Snoke has made it clear he wants to undo what he’s done, but that will take years. It’s a little too convenient, if you ask me, but we have to play his game, for now.” Rey fails to suppress a growl of frustration. Leia offers another squeeze of her hands.

“I know, my dear. I feel the same, but we must put our game faces on. You will be part of the announcements tonight. Snoke will kick it off—he’s rather fond of giving long-winded, pompous speeches about himself. You will be partnering with his COO, Armitage Hux, the ginger man standing beside Ben.” Leia gives an elegant nod of her head, her intricate, braided updo not budging even a centimeter. A shiver of revulsion ripples through her at the mention of Hux’s name.

“Why Hux?” Rey’s embarrassed by the whine in her voice, but it can’t be helped.

“Because Hux will be moving over to RA, while Ben takes over TFO during the merger. As long as the current plan plays out, Ben is set to inherit TFO and its holdings. Hux is getting RA as the consolation prize. I’ve already signed over Ben’s inheritance of RA to Snoke. It’s a smoke screen move that has little meaning outside of titles, Ben will inherit it back as part of TFO, but it keeps Snoke in the game. Their first initiative is to push a new, more affordable suppressant and stop the labor strikes to help reduce the growing number of Omegas going into breakthrough heats. The latest numbers are out and over half of forced claim bites are given to Omegas during a breakthrough heat specifically. It’s horrible.”

Alarm bells are screaming at Rey at this news. This doesn’t make sense. Something about this plan doesn’t add up with what Ben has told her. “Don’t trust him, Leia. Please This is a trap,” Rey whispers nervously as the trio of men begin walking in their direction.

“I know, Rey. I know.” Leia assures her in a solid voice and a strong squeeze of her hands before releasing her to shake Snoke and Hux’s proffered hands.

“You must be the new Omega. Rey, I do believe,” Snoke teases, leering at her as he bypasses her extended hand and moves in for a hug instead. He presses her to his bony body with surprisingly strong arms wrapped tightly around her. She feels him inhale deeply when his head bends into her neck, and then he’s releasing her so quickly she stumbles, feeling slightly dazed. She blinks up at Ben, standing solemnly next to Snoke, his expression inscrutable.

“You smell—ahem, I mean _seem_ —familiar, my dear.” Snoke smirks darkly as he chuckles at his tactless jeer. Beside him, Ben stiffens, his hands clenching tightly until his knuckles turn an alarming shade of white. Rey hates this man’s voice. If spiders had voices, they would sound exactly like Snoke, and be offended by the comparison too.

“She’s the Omega mix whore your future son-in-law fucked at the marathon, and, it would seem, tonight as well. You have questionable taste, Solo,” Hux sniffs disdainfully between chuckles.

_Whack!_

Rey’s hand stings painfully at the impact with Hux’s face, but she doesn’t show it. Next to her, Leia gasps, but it’s not because Rey just slapped her future work partner for his vile words, it’s because Hux is raising his arm to backhand Rey in retaliation, his face twisted with hate and disgust that a mere Omega dare strike him. But Ben is faster and before she can blink, Rey is looking down at where Hux is sprawled upon the elegant carpet of the hotel’s floor, blood staining his chin as his torn lip begins to bleed.

“Don’t you _dare_ touch my m—” Ben seethes, red faced and teeth bared in a fearsome display of Alpha might, before Leia interrupts.

“Get your Alphas under control, Snoke!”

But Snoke’s not paying attention to Leia. He’s not paying attention to Hux as he rolls on the carpet like a dramatic soccer player. He’s standing still and stiff as a statue as he eyes Ben, an expression of hurt and betrayal playing across his features. Confused, Rey circles Ben, placing herself between him and his coworkers. Her stomach drops in dismay. Ben ran his hand through his hair after Hux fell, as is his habit when he’s nervous or angry, and in doing so, he revealed Rey’s claim bite for all the world to see.

“Oh no,” she whispers in horror. Too late, Ben realizes his error as he straightens to his full height, reaching out to pull Rey behind him. Snoke is faster. Rey finds herself being turned to face Snoke, his long, bony fingers digging sharply into her upper arms. She hisses in pain, bile rising in the back of her throat as the crawling sensation returns with a vengeance. Her body reacts violently to this man’s touch now, where it had been mild only moments before.

“What have you done to my apprentice,” he roars in her face as she sways on her feet. She’s going to be sick if he doesn’t let go now. Snoke is shaking with rage, his eyes burning brighter than a thousand suns with pure hatred. Rey refuses to back down in the face of danger. She’s a fighter to the bone and she will always go down swinging.

“Ben Solo doesn’t belong to _you_ ,” she hisses spitefully. She yelps as Snoke digs his fingernails deep, breaking the skin under his grip. It’s too much for her system and her knees give out as she doubles over, her stomach cramping painfully. Unable to hold her up, Snoke releases her to let her drop to the ground so he doesn’t fall with her.

“Ben don’t!” Leia’s hoarse cry sounds above Rey’s head as she’s jostled on the floor. Warm hands cradle her head, one hand patting her hair soothingly.

“I can overlook you rutting as many Omegas as want, Solo, but I will not tolerate disloyalty to me or my daughter. I will bring you to your knees before I will let you turn your back on what you have promised me. Remember, my apprentice, I know what you have done for me. _Everything_.” Snoke’s warning falls ominously from his lips.

Rey opens her eyes to find Leia bent over her protectively, her eyes full of concern even as her lips are pursed in anger. She knows that anger is directed at her right now, and she knows she deserves it, but she can’t concern herself with that matter now. Right now, her Alpha needs her. Leia helps her back up on her feet, pulling one of Rey’s arms around her shoulders so she can lean in support as her knees shake.

“None of that matters anymore,” she grits out through clenched teeth. Her stomach is feeling better, but she can feel blood oozing from the crescent shaped punctures Snoke left on each arm.

“Do not speak so confidently about matters which you know nothing about, my dear child. You have no idea what young Solo here is capable of, but I do.” The old man wheezes as Ben continues to back him into a corner, increasing the distance between Snoke and Rey.

“That’s enough, Bernard,” Leia shushes him dryly. She’s remarkably calm in the face of chaos. “We have speeches to make and peace to claim. Let’s get to it.” There’s no room for argument in her tone, and Rey is surprised to see all three men nod in agreement and seemingly shrug off the events of the past five minutes.

“This isn’t over, Leia,” Snoke promises darkly as he straightens his tie and jacket. Hux has finished wiping the blood off his face with his monogrammed, linen handkerchief and busies himself with tucking it back into his jacket. The two men head back into the ballroom, leaving Ben to linger in the hallway with two women blinking expectantly at him. Leia is looking for an explanation and Rey is looking for comfort, but before he can address either, they hear the screech of the microphone feedback through the speakers as the sound team transitions to the next phase of the evening.

Leia sighs deeply and loudly. “We better get to it, then. But I expect a full debrief of this situation before the night is through.”

Ben and Rey nod in response. Suddenly, Ben is back in Rey’s orbit, wrapping his big, strong arms around her and pulling her in for a comforting hug. “Are you ok, my love?” She nods into his chest and relaxes into his embrace. “He will _never_ touch you, again. I promise. I’ll kill him first,” Ben whispers fiercely into the shell of her ear as he nuzzles into her neck, his nose bumping her scent gland. He takes a reassuring inhale, pulling their combined scent deep into his lungs.

“Ben,” Leia murmurs sadly behind them. She feels Ben nod sharply, taking one last deep breath at her scent gland before releasing her and stalking past his mother into the ballroom. Rey remains still until she hears the door click closed again.

“You’re in love already, aren’t you? The both of you.”

Rey nods slowly, still refusing to turn to face the consequences.

“Does Valerie know?”

Rey stiffens. Why the fuck does everyone keep coming back to Valerie?

“Yes,” she replies hoarsely around the lump in her throat.

“Did he claim you in return?”

Rey hesitates a moment before answering. “Not exactly.”

“What does that mean?” Leia retorts sharply. Rey turns to face her boss, shifting her hair over her shoulder to display her unclaimed scent gland. She winces as Leia sighs with relief.

“Stop talking in riddles, Rey. I don’t have time to parse through this mess right now, but you and Ben have a lot of explaining to do once this damn ball is over,” Leia barks as she marches down the hall, away from the ballroom. “Don’t just stand there gawking, lets get your arms cleaned up. You can use my shawl to keep them covered when you’re on stage with me.”

Back inside the ballroom, shawl pulled tightly around her arms, Rey picks at the mushroom chicken dish on her plate. She can’t eat, the queasy feeing in her stomach refusing to abate as she steals glances at Ben at the next table over. He’s somehow able to eat his meal as if it were his last. For her part, Leia also appears cool and collected, as if she hadn’t just learned her son has been claimed by one of her employees despite him being all but married to the daughter of the rival company’s leader. It’s all a hot mess, but Leia is the picture of serenity as she delicately eats her salmon. Rey both admires and abhors Leia’s practiced demeanor of calm.

She’s grateful when the waitstaff returns to remove the dinner plates, holding her plate up helpfully as their table’s server made his rounds. Nodding politely, she waits patiently as her wine glass is refilled. It’s her third glass, but who’s counting. She needs the buzz to make it through the rest of this circus, she muses to herself as she drinks deeply from her newly refilled glass. Besides, sober Rey will want to analyze every second of the evening thus far, and there’s just no room for that in her heart tonight. She’ll put that off until tomorrow. Tomorrow’s a new day.

Tapping on a microphone startles her from her brief reverie. Back to reality as the ambient noise of silverware scraping across plates sinks back in. A murmur ripples through the crowd as old man Snoke makes his way gingerly across the stage. He’s really playing up the old and dying card tonight. Rey can’t help by wonder if the excitement of the hallway encounter wore him out just a bit. Ever the sycophant, Hux is beside him to help guide him to the podium erected for the speeches. Rey wants to slap the ingratiatingly smug smile off the pasty, pale man’s face. She grins widely as she recalls the satisfying sound the palm of her hand made when it collided with his cheek. If she squints, she can just make out the tell-tale puffy lower lip from where Ben landed a blow in her defense. The ginger irritant deserved it and more.

Rey manages to tune out most of Snoke’s speech. True to Leia’s word, the man is pompous and long winded, taking every opportunity to pat himself on the back and extol his virtues, stretching the bounds of polite audience behavior as the crowd grows increasingly fidgety with boredom. She’s down to her last sip of wine before his speech catches her attention at the mention of Ben’s name.

“As most of you know, Ben has been courting my darling daughter, Valerie, for some time now. Ben originally intended to get down on bended knee at this very moment and propose to my Val.” Snoke pauses to preen in the response of the crowd as they ooh and ahh in predictable fashion. “Yes, it would have been beautiful, especially considering the partnership I am entering into with Rebel Alliance to further the Omega cause.”

Another gratuitous pause as the now enraptured audience applauds thunderously at this announcement. Snoke holds up a hand as he bends his head in false humility. Rey sneers, incredulous that anyone could fall for the obviously fake drivel of Snoke’s self-aggrandizing speech. Even Leia is looking nauseous.

“I am pleased to announce that Ben did propose to my Valerie this evening, but they got caught up in the passion of the moment,” Snoke jeers with a suggestive waggle of his eyebrows. “My future son-in-law has been freshly claimed by my daughter, ladies and gentlemen. I am a proud papa tonight!” He laughs gleefully into the microphone, the sound screeching through the speakers all around Rey.

“As you can now understand, my daughter is unable to attend as she recovers from the claiming bite Ben gave her in return. You know how pure Alphas can get,” he purrs into the microphone, his gaze burning into Rey, daring her to respond. But all Rey can do is sit in stunned silence, unable to blink or swallow as blood thunders in her ears. All around her, the crowd hoots and hollers as people clink on their glasses and cheer.

“Come on out, son, and show the good people here the claim my daughter made on you. Don’t be shy,” Snoke goads playfully. Rey watches in stunned silence as Ben walks mechanically into the spotlight and allows the old man to paw at his hair to reveal the bitten scent gland on his neck. The crowd cheers louder as Rey turns to ice in her chair. The din of the crowd fades to white noise and Rey stares in horror as Snoke and Hux slap Ben’s shoulders in mock congratulations. Just before she succumbs to the darkness rushing up to steal her consciousness, Rey sees Snoke turn back to her, his beady, nearly black eyes locking onto hers. Loud and clear, as if he were speaking directly into her mind, she hears him.

“ _Bang, bang_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We'll get into more of what Leia does and doesn't know at this precise moment, later. I know it's irritating in the context of this chapter, but it's going down exactly as it needs to go down. I'm like JJ Abrams with Lost. I'll give you answers, but only if I can give you fifty bazillion more questions to make those answers unsatisfying. Lol. And what the fuck is Snoke referring to? More on that coming right up! ;)


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A short update to soothe the cliffhanger suspense... with another cliffhanger. Dun-dun-dunnnnnnnnnnnn.
> 
> We learn just why Rey passed out at the ball, and Ben gets a chance to be a good Alpha. A little fluff sprinkle on your lump of coal. Also, I am not a scientist, biologist, or medical doctor. I just write fanfic, so take all the sciensey/medically stuff with a boulder of salt.

_She can hear them fussing about her from far away, on the other side of the ocean separating her island from reality; the worry and concern interspersed with an oddly cheerful congratulations, followed by a sharp growl and scathing insult. Shrugging the voices off, she leans back and closes her eyes, basking in the warm glow of the suns orbiting above her little green paradise. She delights in the sensation of floating. Calm washes over her at the soothing, weightless feeling. A single word, echoing endlessly above the other voices, breaks through the dreamy haze of the island._ Mate. _The reverence with which that word is spoken warms her insides and she grins to herself, eyes still closed. She snuggles deeper into the warmth of the word, reveling in the feeling of safety and belonging it brings._

“Place her on the bed.” A warmly maternal voice directs urgently. Rey knows that voice, but she can’t make her thoughts connect through the pounding in her temple. Her tongue feels swollen and dry in her mouth, and her upper arms feel like they’re on fire. She whimpers loudly as she’s lowered to the bed, clinging blindly to the familiar warmth and safety of the arms around her.

“Shhh, it’s ok, my little mate. I’m not leaving you, sweetheart,” Ben murmurs softly so only she can hear, his lips brushing the outer shell of her ear. It is on that promise that she lets go of her island haven to open her eyes and return to reality.

“Behmm,” she mumbles weakly around her leaden tongue. Panic sweeps through her swiftly as she realizes she can’t move her tongue or swallow. Her throat burns, it’s so dry. Did she drink too much? Why do her arms burn? Her fight or flight instinct shifts into overdrive as she begins to writhe on the bed, clawing at her throat in desperation, unable to make a sound. She can’t breathe.

“Out of my way!”

Rey vaguely registers the sting in her thigh in her hysteria. The bed jostles beneath her, as if an elephant were jumping on it, and isn’t that an odd thought at this moment. Laughter bubbles up unbidden at the mental image of an elephant jumping up and down on the bed. The laughter quickly escalates to embarrassing guffaws that belie her inability to breathe only moments before.

“Back off Ben. That’s an order. Let Harter do her job,” Leia barks from somewhere nearby. An obnoxiously loud and long sigh sounds somewhere closer to her, from the very bed she’s lying on, it would seem. Rey reaches out a hand behind her, still doubled over on her side with laughter she can’t control. The bed shifts and then she feels Ben’s big hand take hers and she grips him tightly, anchoring herself to him. Eventually, the laughter subsides, leaving her a sniffling mess of runny mascara in its wake.

“Slight pinch,” Dr. Kalonia warns, just before she feels another sting, and then another.

Strong hands loop under her arms to scoot her back and up on the bed, resting her back on pillows that have been propped up against the headboard. Rey has a moment of vertigo from the movement before blinking the sensation away and taking in the state of her room, because there’s no doubt they are back in her room. The very same room, and bed, that she claimed Ben in only hours ago. Her cheeks turn pink when she realizes Leia is breathing through her mouth, trying to avoid inhaling the strong smell of sex still staining in the air.

The doctor moves steadily about the room, gathering her supplies before heading back to conduct a thorough examination. After a few tense minutes of studying the portable pulse-ox machine and listening to Rey’s heart and lungs, Dr. Kalonia exhales deeply and smiles as she puts everything back into its place in her bag.

“You’re going to be ok, my dear,” she assures her, patting her on the arm. Rey hisses with the contact on the puncture wounds Snoke left in her arm. The doctor frowns, gingerly easing the tightly wrapped shawl from around her shoulders and slipping it down her arms to reveal the inflamed crescent shaped marks on both arms.

“I’m going to _kill_ him,” her Alpha growls beside her.

“What happened here, Rey? Where did these marks come from?” Dr. Kalonia asks with alarm, her hands brushing over the wounds with practiced care.

“Snoke did that to her,” Ben hisses venomously, rolling off the other side of the bed to pace along the wall of windows. She parts her lips to ask him to return to her side before she closes her mouth with a clack of her teeth. His protective instincts are no doubt screaming at his impotence to keep her safe downstairs, and she reasons it is best to allow him this outlet for his self-loathing, though it breaks her heart to see him in such pain.

“I need to speak with Rey. Alone.” The doctor silently communicates her need to protect her patient’s privacy, but Rey shakes her head. “It pertains to our discussion this afternoon,” Dr. Kalonia pleads insistently.

“It’s ok, Ben knows,” she assures her, turning to look at her Alpha,” And Leia needs to know.”

Ben nods at her in agreement.

“Are you pregnant?” Leia exclaims with alarm, marching over to the bed, her gaze locked on Rey’s very flat abdomen.

“No!” The trio answer in unison, startling Leia with their vehemence.

“You better sit down, mother.” Ben suggests, sighing, resigned.

For the first time since Rey met Leia as a 10-year-old child, the most powerful female Alpha in the world obeys her son’s suggestion, and she plops down on the bed at Rey’s feet. The three other occupants of the room stare in open-mouthed shock.

“Get on with it,” Leia orders grumpily with an impatient wave of her hands. It’s clear she’s not accustomed to being left out of the loop. Ben and Rey silently argue over which of them should speak first, but the good doctor swoops in to save the day for all of them.

“Ben and Rey are OTP,” the doctor announces in sing-song cheer. Leia’s face lights up immediately as she her back straightens.

“One true pairing,” Leia breathes. She looks to where Ben has stopped pacing. “Just like your grandparents.”

The surprise registering on his face tells Rey he wasn’t expecting that information.

“Anakin and Padme were OTP?”

Leia nods, breaking into a warm smile that crinkles the corners of her eyes. “Your grandfather was smitten with Padme from the moment he met her as a child—oh! Just like you and Rey,” she gasps, glancing back at Rey, her eyes shining with unshed tears. She gasps again, bringing her hands up to cover her mouth as her expression changes to unmistakable guilt. “Han and I should never have sent Ben away, we shouldn’t have interfered, but we were so afraid… I can’t remember why, now,” she mutters to herself.

“It’s ok, mother. Let the past die.”

“This is all my fault,” Leia whispers harshly to no one in particular. Beside her, the doctor clears her throat forcefully.

“Rey had an anaphylactic reaction to Snoke’s Alpha microbiome introduced to her bloodstream via these puncture marks. It’s a side-effect of an incomplete claiming cycle for an OTP Omega that they are unusually sensitive to allergic reactions to other Alphas. The drugs I gave her have halted the reaction, but the inflammation of the wounds need the assistance of her Alpha’s own microbiome to heal. I will prescribe antibiotics, but if Ben doesn’t attend to these wounds soon she will go back into anaphylaxis,” the doctor dictates crisply.

“Consider it done,” Ben barks as he strides back to Rey’s side, crowding Dr. Kalonia away in the process. He runs his warm hands down both of her arms as he bends over her, the callouses on his hands catching slightly on her fresh scabs. He seems to freeze in place.

“What, exactly, do I need to do for my mate,” he asks over his shoulder, doubt clouding his features.

“To put it bluntly: you need to lick her wounds. As if you were soothing a scent gland, ideally.”

Rey tries to stifle a giggle at the look of shock on her Alpha’s face. Of all the—questionable—things they’ve engaged in together when it comes to exchanging bodily fluids, it’s comical that her Alpha balks at this necessary exchange.

“This is serious, Rey,” Ben admonishes with a huff.

“He’s right, this is serious. Don’t dilly dally, kids,” Dr. Kalonia orders airily as she drags Leia out of the room to wait in the hallway, with a pointed look at Ben as she closes the door.

“Right,” he mutters, eyeing her arm as if it were the Sunday crossword puzzle. They dance around each other awkwardly as they try to puzzle out the best position to allow Ben to literally lick her wounds. Rey ends up lying on her back, with Ben curled around her in a way that puts his head level with her shoulders, one bent arm supports his weight as he uses the other to raise her arm to his lips. He takes his time, methodical and meticulous in his ministrations, all the while his chest rumbles with a low register purr that relaxes her, body and mind. She expected to feel _something_ during the process, but she’s still surprised when what she feels is relaxed. Safe. Content.

By the time Ben shifts to the other arm, her eyelids are drooping sleepily, her chest vibrating softly in tandem with Ben’s purr, her body in synch with her mate’s.

“Rey… you’re purring,” he whispers, eyes wide with awe as he pauses his licking.

“Mmmhmm,” she hums sleepily, shaking her arm slightly to encourage him to continue his task. All too soon, the moment is over and he’s urging her to sit back up on the bed again. He brings her a glass of water, which she gulps down gratefully, relishing the feel of the ice-cold water as it slides down her throat. Ben strides over to the door to let his mother and the doctor back into the room. The two women immediately gravitate to Rey’s side, fussing over her, refilling her water and resetting the shawl back into place to hide her wounds, which are now a healthy pink and not an angry red like before. Ben’s licking worked.

“It will take time for your body to heal the wounds fully, but it looks like Ben did a wonderful job helping you get a jump start, my dear,” the doctor gushes. “This OTP stuff is just so romantic!”

Leia scoffs behind her. “It’s not romantic when you’re watching your father go mad—literally—with grief after your mother dies.”

“Yes, the bond, when broken by death, will drive the survivor insane. It is one of the few drawbacks of being OTP.”

“Drawback is an understatement, Harter,” Leia retorts harshly. “I wouldn’t wish that sort of madness on my worst enemy.”

A polite knock on the door distills the tension in the room. Leia makes the first move to open the door. The atmosphere of the room turns to glacial as Snoke, with Hux hot on his heels, glides into the room with a carefree smile plastered on his face. His eyes twinkle maliciously as he takes stock of the emotion of the room. He makes a beeline for Rey, but Ben steps in front of her, taking up her vision entirely as she stares up at the rigid line of his shoulders as he squares off with Snoke. Anger rolls off her Alpha in dark waves that leave her shivering in their wake.

“Stay back, Snoke,” Ben warns ominously, clenching his hands into tight fists at his side. She hears Snoke tutting softly in response to Ben’s Alpha display.

“I’ve only come to wish your dear Omega _friend_ well, my son,” Snoke counters jovially, grasping Ben on one shoulder. Rey sees that hand tighten slightly and her vision goes red. How dare this vile creature touch her Alpha so intimately as a way to intimidate him.

Ben shrugs the hand off his shoulder. “Rey is resting. Thank you for checking on her. Now leave, please,” he grits out slowly.

“That’s wonderful news,” Snoke booms in the small room. He’s not even bothering to hide his overacting and that sends a frisson of fear racing up her spine. How much has the man figured out? Rey is mentally kicking herself for being so foolish tonight. This is all her fault.

“I bet you wore her out in here, son. I can still smell it,” the old man jeers. “Can you, Leia?”

A snarl ricochets through the room, but it’s not from Ben.

“Oh, to be young and free again. I remember what it was like to chase the fillies around town,” Snoke chortles obscenely. “But I didn’t go around letting just any Omega _claim_ me, like a lovesick fool. I expect better of you, young Solo. I saw great potential in you when I saved you all those years ago. Don’t make me regret it. _Son_.” Snoke’s tone devolves into a growl by the end of his warning.

Rey places a trembling hand under Ben’s jacket to rub small circles into his back, trying her best to soothe him as innocuously as possible given their audience. She’s secure in the knowledge that her Alpha’s broad form keeps her hidden from Snoke and Hux. They all need Ben to keep his cool right now, lest he blow everything apart with one reckless reaction. She’s been reckless enough for the both of them tonight.

“Yes, sir,” Ben answers haltingly, but Snoke seems pleased by the submission.

“Good. Well then, we really must get back to the party! We’re only half-way through the speeches and the crowd is hungry for more. Everyone is asking for you, Ben. They all want to celebrate the happy occasion of your engagement to my Val,” the old man rasps, his breathing becoming labored. Hux rushes up to support Snoke as they walk back towards the door. Dr. Kalonia cocks her head to one side as she observes their retreat.

“Oh, and one more thing,” Snoke teases, taking a deep breath before continuing. “I will be hosting a celebratory brunch at my estate this Sunday. We will be toasting the happy couple and Rebel Alliance on our merger. You are all cordially invited to attend. In fact, I insist upon it. My personal photographer will be there to mark the occasion. I want to capture the moment and share it with the world. I especially look forward to showing the matching his-and-hers claim marks on the happy couple.”

And with that statement hanging in the air like a dark specter, Snoke departs the room with a bang of the door behind him.

“Fuck!”

“Language, Benjamin Solo.” Leia stomps her foot in frustration, but they all know it’s at the situation and not Ben.

“That’s two days from now,” the doctor muses out loud.

“Yes, Harter, we’re aware of how the days of the week work.”

For her part, the doctor shrugs off Leia’s biting comment blithely, as one must learn to do if they want to remain in Leia’s inner circle for very long.

“That window of time rules out a medical claiming bite, as we discussed this afternoon, my friend,” Dr. Kalonia points out carefully. “And Ben can’t give a lasting claiming bite, not truly. He can leave a scar, but I don’t think that will be enough to fool Snoke anymore.”

“So, what can we do?” Ben interjects gruffly. Rey moves to stand next to him, wrapping an arm around his waist. He seems to startle, as if he had forgotten she was still in the room, but he returns her embrace with a squeeze.

“You can still bite her directly. It will be convincing enough for the brunch, especially if you wait until tomorrow night to do it. I can give her a dose of steroids to temporarily suppress her immune system, to allow your proteins to last longer in her system, but it will only buy you another day or so. Short of hospitalizing her and burning out her liver and kidneys on a steady supply of steroids, I can’t suppress her system for much longer. There are immunosuppressants for transplant patients, but those take weeks to reach full strength in the system. We simply don’t have enough time.”

“Fuck!” The two Solos grunt in unison before the room falls silent, each of the occupants lost in thought.

“Ok… Ben bites her tomorrow and we worry about the rest after the brunch,” Rey offers in a shaky voice, sniffing against the tears threatening to spill on the next blink of her eyes. She hates herself for putting them into this situation, for forcing Ben’s hand, but there doesn’t seem to be another option that keeps Ben alive and safe; Rey sees that now. She hates herself for voicing her worst fear aloud and offering her Alpha up for another Omega. It should be her scent gland Ben bites for the first time. For the only time. But she can’t deny that this moment is all her own doing. She is the architect of her own destruction.

“No.”

Rey blinks up at Ben through watery eyes, but his expression is just as shocked as hers. It takes a heartbeat to realize that the voice wasn’t Ben's.

“No, I’ll do it. I’ll claim Valerie.”

Ben and Rey turn in shock towards the voice, blinking owlishly at its source.

Leia’s face is set in grim determination, her spine straight and her chest puffed out, the very picture of a general heading into battle. “I will claim Valerie as my Omega in Ben’s place.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How do you like them apples?! Eh?! Raise your hand if you saw it coming. I just know some of you had to have seen that coming. Before you get too relieved about Ben not having to be involved: he will be. He has to be. It's biology and there's just no getting away from it. Gird your loins, because I suspect some of you will be unhappy with how the Valerie claiming situation goes down no matter how small Ben's part will be now. It's coming up very soon, but not the next chapter. 
> 
> One of my besties is a RN and she travels with a nurses kit that includes a stethoscope and pulse-ox, so I figure a doctor can do that in my fic. 
> 
> One of my dear readers suggested a fun poll, which we will get to on the next chapter! :-)


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I think this chapter will make the next bearable.
> 
> The Fab Four make plans and Valerie makes a cameo. Ben and Rey make some emotional headway. Guess what else they make in this chapter? ;)
> 
> And you know what? I think these two crazy kids are gonna make it. I really do.

“Will that work?”

Rey’s heart clenches at the raw, naked look of hope on her Alpha’s face as he turns from his mother to Dr. Kalonia. She glances back at Leia and finds her face mirrors Ben’s as she pleads silently with her friend; to what end, Rey doesn’t know. Feeling a little foolish, Rey hides her hand behind her back, crossing her fingers and sending up a silent plea of her own. She will support Ben no matter the outcome, but the possessive little girl inside still clings to the romantic notion that she will not have to share her Alpha; not his body, not his soul, not his heart, and not his claim.

Thankfully, the doctor doesn’t leave them in suspended in purgatory for long.

“Yes,” she says speculatively, her eyes narrowing in thought. “That will work brilliantly. Of course, it helps that Leia has a big mouth that will leave a convincing scar in place of Ben’s.”

“This is why I keep you around, Harter,” Leia chuckles, wiping at the corners of her eyes before embracing her friend in a warm hug.

“How?”

“Are you asking how Leia’s claim bite will work for Ben’s?”

Rey nods, knowing her voice will betray her rioting emotions and she doesn’t want to risk upsetting her Alpha any further. Her Omega instincts are screaming at her to soothe away the stink of anxiety and fear and helplessness emanating from Ben. She’s beginning to understand that her emotions are not just her own anymore.

“Excellent question,” Dr. Kalonia chirps, the mantle of professional courtesy settling upon her sturdy shoulders once more. “Easy answer: their familial Alpha proteins are similar enough to cause a convincing chemical change in Valerie’s scent so that she will smell like an Alpha Solo. With the added benefit that Leia’s proteins and hormones will have a lasting effect, whereas Ben’s would not. The scar will not match up to Ben’s if Snoke were to contest the claim, but it will be close enough by sight alone to appease the man. I hope.”

“You hope,” Ben barks incredulously. “That man will not be satisfied with ‘close enough.’”

“I’m sorry, Ben, but close enough is what we have to work with. We can either leave a convincing scar with your bite, but no lasting chemical or biological changes to back it up. Or we can leave a ‘close enough’ scar with Leia’s bite, with lasting chemical and biological changes that will match up convincingly enough to yours. Unless…” Dr. Kalonia’s voice drifts off into contemplative silence as she taps her chin with her index finger, lips pursed, and eyes narrowed until almost shut.

“Unless what?” Ben growls out, stomping his foot. It’s clear his patience is on tenterhooks at this point.

“Manners,” Leia admonishes with her own growl. Rey shivers beside Ben, the flood of Alpha hormones in the room almost too much for her system right now. She’s tired, oh, so tired.

“Sit down, Rey. You’re looking a little pale,” the doctor advises kindly, switching easily into bedside manner mode as she gracefully guides Rey back to the bed, fluffing the pillows before easing her back to lie down.

Rey barely has time to give a sincere thanks to the doctor before her Alpha is shouldering his way between the two, scooping her up into his arms—with an effortlessness that is undeniably sexy—before settling them back onto the bed. Now Rey finds herself cocooned in the warm embrace of her mighty Alpha, sandwiched between his powerful thighs, her back pressed firmly into his softly vibrating chest by his arms wrapped tightly across her chest, the top of her head tucked snugly under his chin. She lets her eyelids flutter shut with a sigh as she goes limp in submission.

“Unless what, Harter?”

“Unless Ben were to bite Valerie once Leia is done, while the mark is still fresh,” Dr. Kalonia states crisply.

“Is that really necessary?” Leia demands with a sniff.

Rey opens her eyes to see her boss standing at the foot of the bed, staring in wise wonder at the scene in front of her. Rey tries to visualize what Leia must be seeing right now; her Alpha son, whom she thought was lost to the darkness stoked within in him by Snoke, tenderly and openly giving his love to another. She sees that Leia is trying to protect this growth in her son at all costs, by throwing herself into the fire without hesitation. Rey’s heart swells with admiration and love for Leia and the sacrifice she is making to protect them all. Protection she wouldn’t need to offer if it weren’t for Rey and her feelings on the matter; their OTP status aside. She’s never felt so loved, and yet so small, in all her life as she does right now in the face of such conviction to save a loved one.

This is what it means to belong: to sacrifice.

The knife-sharp epiphany nearly knocks the breath from her lungs.

“It’s the only surefire way to satisfy Snoke that the claim bite is authentic to Ben. The process is time-sensitive, but it is possible for Ben to bite Valerie without giving her his proteins and hormones.”

“Ok. What do we need to do,” Rey asks; her voice is strong and even with a calm confidence she feels to the marrow of her bones. She will not allow Leia and Ben to make this sacrifice without her support; because that’s what family does, they support each other, in the good times and the bad. She will not abandon her family like her feckless parents did to her.

“Rey—” But she cuts Ben off with a squeeze of her hands where they rest on his thighs.

“Let me help,” she whispers over her shoulder. Several heartbeats go by before she feels Ben nod above her.

“As you know, a claiming bite is a largely sexual experience. It’s an intrinsic part of Alpha-Omega reproduction, although we have elevated it to a social status in modern times. We’ve made it romantic—”

“Let’s not editorialize,” Leia huffs, fidgeting on her feet, refusing to make eye contact with the couple on the bed.

The doctor doesn’t miss a beat as she continues. “Editorializing is the spice of life, Leia. As I was saying, this purely biological function requires sexual arousal to be successful. It’s why the medical claiming route tends to fail more often than not. It’s notoriously difficult to reach the heightened state of arousal required in a doctor’s office, but laws restrict us from performing these procedures outside the clinical setting,” the doctor sighs deeply. “But I digress.”

“Yes, you really do,” Leia mutters. Rey empathizes with Leia’s discomfort. And judging by the squirming her Alpha is doing behind her, he feels the same. None of them want to consider the nitty gritty details of what must be done to accomplish their goal. But Rey can’t focus on the discomfort for long before something else begins to nag at her in the back of her mind.

“Valerie should be a part of this discussion. She should have a say in all this,” Rey points out. In this moment, she feels a kinship with Valerie. It isn’t fair for them to be discussing this without the Omega in question being present. The sting of betrayal is still fresh on her heart from her own moment of being left in the dark.

Her statement is followed quickly by a chorus of agreement from the remaining trio in the room. In the end, they decide to have Leia call Valerie and catch her up to speed before placing her on speaker and allowing Dr. Kalonia to continue.

“As I was saying, the sexual aspect of this procedure cannot be overlooked, however, that doesn’t apply to the claiming scar itself. Sometime after the bite is administered, both parties will experience a sharp decline in hormones. This is usually when the male Alpha tends to begin rubbing his freshly released semen into the Omega’s skin and scent gland. During this hormonal lull, Ben can quickly bite Valerie, leaving his claiming scar over Leia’s, but without giving his proteins and hormones.”

“How?” Valerie and Rey chime in unison.

“Two reasons: neither Ben nor Valerie will be aroused when he makes his bite, and by having Ben thoroughly brush his teeth, followed by a mouth rinse with strong booze; this should further ensure he is free of any proteins or hormones associated with arousal. He will need to make the bite immediately following his oral hygiene routine. But that’s not where the timing gets delicate.”

Dr. Kalonia hesitates, seeming to be at a loss—for once—on how to proceed.

“I would hope this next part were obvious. Ben will still need to provide a—uhh—semen sample. A fresh semen sample. So someone can rub it into Valerie’s freshly bitten scent gland, _after_ Ben has bitten her. It’s a part of the process that cannot be skipped, I’m afraid. And that’s where the timing gets delicate, as you can imagine.”

“So, this is just like what we do for my heats, then. Right?” Valerie asks from the phone held aloft in Leia’s hand. Leia cocks her head, glancing quizzically at Ben. Right—Leia still thinks Ben and Valerie have consummated their relationship.

“Yes. This is exactly like that!” The doctor chirps merrily. Rey frowns at this reaction, until she remembers just how Ben and Valerie have navigated her heats. Her reaction seems to mollify Leia, and she’s never been more thankful for a misunderstanding in her life.

“I won’t need to give you any steroids. The application of Ben’s semen will lock in his specific scent topically, but Leia’s contribution will have already begun the cellular changes, protecting you from Ben and circumventing any unpleasant reactions.”

“Then why do you need his…uh, sample, if Leia’s the one making the claim?”

“Given the extreme timetable we’re now operating on, it will boost Valerie’s scent change, skewing the scent unmistakably towards Ben. Over time, scents change, for everyone, so any shift after can be easily explained away. She will still have an overpowering Solo smell to her for the rest of her life.”

Rey nods her understanding. She can do this. She can handle this. He’s not leaving a part of himself forever with another Omega. _No, that shouldn’t matter_ , she berates herself. This is about sacrifice, not the degree of the sacrifice. She belongs with this family and she will sacrifice with this family. The details make it easier, she can’t deny that, but she tries to shrug that off.

She can do this.

“Can I be there? To h-help Ben,” Rey asks out loud before really thinking about the implications of her statement. A blush burns across her face like wildfire.

“Yes!” The entire group crows enthusiastically. Chagrined, Rey’s blush burns even brighter.

Leia excuses herself shortly thereafter, to complete her part in the speeches planned for the night. She waves Rey away when she insists on coming with her to fulfill her duties onstage. Rey is grateful, because, in truth, she’s almost too exhausted to stand at this point. Dr. Kalonia talks through the details and timing with Valerie and Ben as Rey continues to recline against Ben on the bed. Not once during the discussion does she feel an ounce of jealousy or anger or fear. The reigning emotion is contented calm. Truth be told, she’s relieved that Valerie’s claiming will be over soon, in less than 24 hours. This issue has clouded her emotional health like a specter of doom, but its power has been released at last and she is left feeling thankful in its wake.

It only takes an hour for them to work out the game plan once Leia returns from the festivities downstairs. Leia assures everyone that Han doesn’t mind that she will be claiming an Omega.

“His only regret is that he won’t be there to watch it happen,” Leia smirks dryly.

“I did not need to hear that,” Ben whines, his shoulders scrunching up as he cringes hard.

Ben doesn’t hold back on the gagging sounds when Leia smugly overshares that she can handle herself when it comes to reaching sexual arousal, but Rey joins in the melodic laughter of the doctor as the women share a knowing look between them. Women everywhere are the primary architects of their own sexual satisfaction.

Everyone will remain true to their mates during the process, while honoring their responsibility to pulling off the task at hand. Valerie is a sobbing mess, blubbering an endless stream of “thank you” by the time they are finished working out the details.

Dr. Kalonia and Leia make a graceful exit together, ensuring everyone remembers to be at Ben’s place no later than 5pm the next day.

Without a word, Ben and Rey strip off their clothing, climbing into bed and under the covers together, exhausted. Ben tucks her against his chest and under his chin where she belongs. The only sound in their room that of their purring together as they drift off to sleep.

  
  


Rey rouses from sleep to the mouthwatering smell of breakfast. All the breakfast. Ben went overboard in ordering for just the two of them, shrugging sheepishly that he didn’t want her to miss out on all the options. He piles her plate to near overflowing with scrambled eggs, French toast, bacon—of course—fruit, pancakes, hash browns and a few pastries.

“Care to join me on the terrace, sweetheart,” he asks with a dramatic wave towards to the sliding glass door. Looking through the windows she sees he’s already set up the little table with steaming mugs of coffee along with their cutlery. Even the champagne bucket is set up, filled with fresh ice, no doubt. Rey grins in response, wrapping the sheet around her and scampering towards the door. Ben swats her ass playfully as she passes him, eliciting a squeal of delight from her.

The terrace is peaceful, suspended high above the hustle and bustle of the street below. Up here, it’s all fresh breezes and warm rays of morning sunlight. Everything is light and bright and airy. Feeling decadent, Rey nods at the champagne bottle, eyebrows lifted playfully. Ben gives her a lopsided grin as he sets their plates down, grasping the bottle in his large hand and yanking the cork out in one pull with the other hand. She startles at expected popping sound, jumping in her chair, even though she was watching and anticipating.

“Some bubbly for my bubbly,” Ben croons to her cheekily, waggling his eyebrows as he pours the effervescent liquid into the flutes. “To my darling mate, my Rey of sunshine, of whom I cannot live without and I do not deserve.”

Rey giggles as the bubbles tickle her nose, but not prepared for the sting as it slid down her throat.

“Whew—this stuff isn’t messing around,” she exclaims, coughing away the sting. Ben hums in response, downing his glass in one go before attacking the food on his plate with gusto. “Hey, slow down! That’s my job!”

“Care to make a race of it, sweetheart?” More eyebrow waggling.

She drowns her pancakes in enough maple syrup to cause every dentist in the nation to clutch their pearls, never breaking eye contact with the smirking hulk of sexy bedhead across from her, one eyebrow lifted in challenge. They clink forks and get down to it, shoveling bites in faster than they could chew and swallow. And they don’t stop until they’re both leaning back in their chairs, each rubbing gingerly at their respective food babies.

“That was epic,” Rey drawls in sing-song.

“I still can’t believe you beat me,” Ben chuckles. She watches, mesmerized, as he cards his fingers through his hair, trying to tame his raven mass of waves. Her brain is all too happy to remind her of how it looks between her thighs as Ben worships at her center, of how it feels to card her own fingers into his locks and pull when the delicious tension only he can create becomes almost too much. She shifts in her seat, rubbing her thighs together—bereft of the plump lips in her memory—to ease the budding ache at their apex.

“ _Mate_ ,” Ben groans breathily from across the table, his pupils blown wide as he catches her scent. Rey can only whimper in response as she catches the unmistakable scent of desire rolling off her Alpha.

He’s gentle, slow and sweet when he takes her on the bed. There’s time for soft caresses that warm instead of burn, slowly building her up to release and catching her when she falls, over and over again. His pace is languid, almost lazy, when he finally enters her; making sure to never leave her fully empty as he thrusts rhythmically. He noses at her scent gland as he sinks his knot into her fluttering walls, sucking at it aggressively when he pulses his seed deep into her waiting body. There’s no frantic panting or moaning or grunting, only sighs and whimpers and soft whispers of “I love you” back and forth. It’s sweet and comfortable and satisfying.

After, they snuggle into each other as they wait for the knot to deflate, wrapped up in the duvet—the sheet having been long abandoned on the terrace. They remain this way, in thoughtful silence, until Ben eventually slips free, some of his spend spilling immediately. He sets about scooping up his cum and rubbing it into her skin, once again taking his time as he works his way up the landscape of her body to her waiting scent gland. She sighs happily as he rubs the warm fluid into her gland.

“You do deserve me, Ben. I hope you know that,” she murmurs huskily.

“Hmmmm,” he responds, dipping two long, thick fingers into her wet entrance to scoop up more of his cum.

“I’m— _ahhh_ —serious, Ben.”

“Someday I hope to make those words true, sweetheart,” he concedes with a kiss to her temple.

“What makes you feel like you don’t deserve me?”

“How much time do you have?” He retorts cheekily, but his eyes don’t match his playful tone. “I’ve done a lot of bad things, Rey. Things I still haven’t told you about, but it’s also how I have handled this whole mission with you, how I’ve handled the past 10 years. I can’t possibly begin to make it up to you, but I’m going to try every fucking day for the rest of my life. I swear it.”

“That’s why you deserve me. I don’t want perfect, my love. I just want _you_. Everything that is you, whether it’s easy or not. I’ve done bad things, too. I’m not perfect, but I know I deserve you,” she insists firmly.

“You were ready to leave me just last weekend,” he murmurs softly, the hurt that brash move made bleeding into the present.

“I was mad, and I tend to say a lot of things I don’t mean when I get mad. I’ve always wanted you, Ben. Even before I met you, I wanted you.”

“I deserved everything you said and more. I’ve been a classic fool, and us being OTP is my only saving grace right now.”

“Ben, neither of us is done making mistakes in this lifetime. I need you realize that. We’re human and we’re going to make mistakes. Being OTP isn’t going to change that, and it’s not going to make being together any easier. It certainly isn’t your saving grace, or mine. The forces of destiny are at work here, but this is still about you and me, coming together as two broken people—with ugly pasts and a lot of baggage—making it work the best we can, day in and day out. We’re going to have to get our hands dirty, but we’re worth it,” she implores, grasping him by the chin and forcing him to look at her and her only.

“Ok,” he answers lamely. She can see he’s not convinced. Where is the fire and fight of her Alpha from last weekend?

“What’s wrong?”

“I haven’t been able to protect you from any of this… _mess_ … my mess. Snoke very nearly killed you last night,” he grunts, brows furrowing with anger.

“I don’t need your protection,” she growls before stopping herself short. Protection is her Alpha’s love language, after all. She sighs. “What I mean is I need you to be beside me, not in front of me.”

“I am beside you, sweetheart. Always. But sometimes I will need to be in front. It is my duty to protect my mate and I take that seriously, even if it means protecting you from me.”

“Let me decide what I need protecting from, you oaf,” she chides with a ruffle of his hair. She doesn’t want to spend the day caught up in a heavy conversation. So much about the past few weeks has been heavy, but there’s relief within their grasp and she doesn’t want to take it for granted.

“I love you,” Ben says, endearingly earnest and vulnerable with her.

“I love you, too.”

“I know you’ve agreed to what has to happen tonight… but how do you really feel about it?”

Rey knew this question was coming, but it startles her nonetheless.

“To be honest—and I know this will sound shocking—but I’m quite content with all of it.”

Predictably, Ben’s mouth gapes open in shock. Rey swats him playfully on the chest, her hand bouncing off the taunt muscles of his pectorals.

“This is a trap, isn’t it? This feels like a trap.”

Rey laughs, shaking her head. “I promise, this isn’t a trap. I’m not excited about, and I still wish you didn’t have to do it. But, seeing your mother last night… the way she threw herself into the fire without question or reservation… because she loves you and wants to protect you—”

“See, it’s an Alpha Solo tradition to protect,” he counters with a grin that Rey can’t help mirroring.

“Well, I was inspired by Leia. The two of you were sacrificing so much to help me, to help you, to help Valerie. I couldn’t let my past influence my present anymore. It is time to grow up and step up to bat with the rest of you… with my f-family,” she stumbles on the last word, stuttering meekly into Ben’s chest as she averts her gaze.

“Hey,” he grunts softly. “Look at me, my little mate.”

She peeks up at him through her lashes, suddenly feeling shy in the face of her bold declaration.

“We are your family, Rey. You belong with us.” He brushes his lips across hers in a chaste kiss. “No claiming bite will change what you mean to me and my parents. We have never been about that.”

“I know that… now. See, I’m not perfect either. I make mistakes, and my attitude towards this whole claiming bite situation has put you under unnecessary stress. I am so sorry for that, my love,” she answers, meeting his lips again with a firmer kiss.

“You’re at peace with the claiming, but what about the part I have to play tonight?”

“Same answer, but maybe less so. I really don’t want to think too much about your mouth on her scent gland, or what they will be doing with your… you know,” she gestures awkwardly down at his general groin area.

He smirks at her. “Well that all doesn’t really belong to just me anymore, now does it, _mate_ ,” he murmurs suggestively, tilting his neck to bare her mark on his scent gland.

Rey snorts as a response in spite of herself. “Are you asking for permission, _Alpha_?”

“No, I’m not asking, but I want it,” he offers sincerely. He’s right, though; he doesn’t need her permission and she knows it, deep down. It stings a little—the possessive little girl in her refusing to go quietly into the night—but she chalks it up to growing pains. No one ever said this would be easy. In fact, she was just telling Ben how not easy it would still be just a few minutes ago.

“Yes, you have my support, my love,” she answers honestly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Raise your hand if, like Rey, you're ready to get this whole Valerie claiming stuff over and done with? *waving my hands in the air because I really do care*
> 
> Oh, good. Excellent. Because it. is. happening. In the very next chapter.
> 
> Stick with me, people. I have the most tooth-achingly sweet, so fluffy you could die, domestic heaven of an epilogue in store for the end of this story. It's my surprise gift to everyone who has stuck with me on this emotional roller-coaster. It's not for a while, but just letting you know. You get a twofer: happy ending AND a domestic fluff epilogue with a sweet surprise. :)


	20. Chapter 20

Quick author’s note: 

Hello all! YES, this story is still active! Life got crazy with my kids starting the new school year and me going back to school myself. Also, we had to evacuate from Hurricane Florence. To say that life is nuts right now is an understatement. Please pray, send good vibes, positive thoughts to all those impacted by this storm. It’s insane. My family is safely out of harms way, but I don’t know if we’ll have a home to go back to or even when we can go home. So be patient with me. :) I will update again! And I hate to have left things on such a crucial chapter. *screeches in Reylo*

Thank you for your patience, and thank you for all of you still interested in reading this little story! :)


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First-- thank you, thank you, thank you to each and every one of you who reached out with kind words on the last "chapter" update. You were a light in my darkness. My family is safe and sound and our house is without major damage. We are lucky beyond belief. Our area is still recovering. People are still in shelters. School won't start for a few more weeks. People have lost everything. Continue to send positive thoughts/vibes/prayers/love our way.
> 
> Second-- thank you to every single reader who is still with me on this wild Reylo ABO ride. I greatly appreciate your choosing to spend time with my story and cast of characters. There are a lot of truly talented writers on this site, and that you still choose to read my story is humbling. Thank you.
> 
> This update-- We finally see the Valerie claiming issue put to bed. Sort of. Check out the end notes after the story! 
> 
> ***I was listening to Love Songs Drug Songs by The X Ambassadors for this chapter, but there's a brief Tori Amos song reference in here as well***

Rey fidgets nervously in the cavernous hallway outside Ben’s apartment door. The building is all sleek steel lines and polished concrete in cool greys and not much else. It’s more imposing museum than cozy sanctuary, and Rey wonders to herself how Ben could ever want to call a place like this home. Despite the soaring height of the ceilings, the building is dark and heavy. She glances longingly at the wall of windows at the end of the hall one last time. The light doesn’t reach Ben’s door, cloaking her hunched shoulders in shadow as she stares blankly at the cold steel door of her mate’s apartment. The same apartment he shares with another Omega. Here, alone in the dark, she can finally admit to herself that she lied.

She lied to Ben, she lied to Leia, and she lied to herself.

She is not okay with what is about to take place, with what may be already taking place.

But Rey is no cornflake girl. She gave her word and she meant it. Still means it. But she’s never going to be ok with it like she told Ben in the cocoon of their hotel. They should have never left that hotel room.

Gathering her resolve, she grits her teeth and raps on the door.

Ben must have been waiting for her just on the other side, because he yanks the door open before she can finish her third knock. His eyes burn into hers unblinking, fever bright and feral; his hair a wild and dark halo of chaos around his face. He lunges at her, all graceful predator and power as he pulls her into his body, knocking the air from her lungs and locking her tightly against his chest where she can feel his heart thrashing wildly within. She’s vaguely aware of the door slamming shut behind her as he hauls her off the ground, her legs instinctively wrapping around his waist for purchase. Ben nuzzles into her neck with a low growl, nudging loose strands of hair out of the way with his nose before inhaling deeply at her scent gland, gulping her down like a man drowning.

Rey grunts as she tries to work her arms free of his embrace, but Ben bites down on her gland with a snarl—just enough pressure to get her attention—and she freezes in place. No one has ever put their teeth on her gland, and her reaction shocks her. She can’t move, her body no longer under her control as Ben continues to gently work her scent gland with his teeth. Tension rolls off her mate in dark waves, his scent sharp and acidic on her tongue. He’s unsettled; an Alpha fighting a losing battle against his instincts.

She closes her eyes and concentrates on her breathing, inhaling and exhaling in a steady rhythm meant to soothe. Eventually he releases her gland, giving it a lingering kiss with his plush lips before raising his head to look at her, his eyes still burning bright.

“Thank you for being here,” he rasps.

“I said I would be here,” she responds, peering up at him boldly. Rey is not a small person, she’s on the tall side for a female Omega, but her Alpha is so big that even when holding her off the ground he still towers over her.

A high-pitched, distinctly Omega moan pierces the silence of the apartment, a disturbingly clear sound despite coming from the other side of a closed door just to the right of where they stand in the open foyer. Instantly, the tension returns in Ben and she feels his body goes rigid once again. With a growl, he pivots sharply, and stomps away from the offending door. Instinct drives her to bury her face into his neck to kiss and lick at his mating mark. _Her_ mating mark. She loses track of their movement through the spacious apartment, only glancing up from his neck when she hears the soft click of a door shutting.

“This is my bedroom,” he says softly, setting her down on his neatly made bed. Rey takes a moment to sweep her eyes around the room, soaking in every precious detail about her mate’s private space. Not that there’s much to glean from the spartan room. He has one side table with a nondescript alarm clock and a small journal bound with a red leather string. A small pair of gold dice hanging from the sleek modern lamp protruding from the wall appears to be the only decoration in the entire space. Like the building itself, it’s sleek lines and grey monotones. There are no throw pillows on the bed, or comfy knit blanket in the reading chair in the corner of the room. No pictures or artwork adorn the wall. This is an empty place to sleep at night while the rest of life takes place elsewhere.

Ben seems to understand the crestfallen look that settles upon her face as her eyes complete their tour.

“This place means nothing to me. You won’t find me in this space. I’m right here, in front of you,” he murmurs reassuringly as he settles onto his knees in front of her.

“Is this…do you s-share this…” she stammers. She shouldn’t punish herself further, but she has to know if this space has been shared with that Omega.

“No,” he answers quickly, shaking his head firmly. “She has never set foot in this space. This is technically a guest room. The master bedroom is back near the front of the apartment, where we heard—uhh…”

Rey nods sharply in understanding. She knows what they heard.

“Will you help me?” Ben pleads. He reaches up with a trembling hand to caress her face, his breathing ragged as it fights to leave his chest. He’s holding on so tightly she fears he’ll shatter before her eyes. In the hotel, he hadn’t been asking for permission; but here, now, this feels like Ben seeking her permission. The corners of her mouth lift ever so softly, her eyes crinkling at their corners as she offers herself to the only person that matters in this whole misbegotten mess.

She helps him with nervously gentle hands mapping out every dip and curve of his muscular frame. She helps him with generous lips dropping possessive kisses of tenderness upon every beauty mark she can claim. She helps him with an even purr vibrating from her chest to tame the beast about to burst from within Ben. This isn’t lust or passion, it is something warmer and deeper, simpler; something almost innocent in its drive to help.

When it is all said and done, and they’re left panting on the bed, it is her name that fell from his lips like a prayer when he reached his climax.

It is her skin that his hands caress reverently in the aftermath.

It is her eyes he stares into with naked adoration and love beaming blindingly from the depths of his whisky brown eyes.

They are a team in this moment, working together to beat back the dark from within. The world outside the door may dictate the necessity of the moment, but it is just the two of them together that decided how the moment would go. Rey is beginning to understand the nuance of this dance with Ben and the mountain they are climbing together. She doesn’t like the climb but she wouldn’t trade her partner for another mountain. For there will always be another mountain. No, the softly snoring Alpha lying in her arms right now is all that matters, all she’s ever wanted. And if she must help him give away a piece of himself so he can be wholly hers, she will. She will never be okay with it, but she’s oddly at peace with not making peace. Because when the cause becomes more important than the people, you are lost. She has seen first hand how Leia struggles to make amends for putting her causes before her own family. Rey will not make the same mistake.

Insistent knocking at the bedroom door rouses her from her thoughts. She gently nudges Ben awake, murmuring softly about answering the door as she showers kisses upon his sleepy face. Rey is surprised to hear Paige’s soft voice answering Ben’s when he cracks the door at last. She slips soundlessly from the bed and swipes the sample she knows Paige is requesting from the bedside table, handing it off to Ben with a calm resoluteness that makes her proud. Of course, this is the easy part of tonight’s activities, and a small knot of dread takes root in her belly as she recalls the next task Ben must accomplish.

“That was easy,” she deadpans, though the joke falls flat in the heavy silence of the room. Her Alpha seems to tense at her words, his shoulders stiffening visibly.

“We’ve worked out a good routine,” he responds with a shrug, lingering at the door and avoiding her eyes.

 _Oh_. 

“No, that’s not what I meant,” she blurts out. Of course, they have a routine for the hand-off. They’ve done this before. For almost 2 years. Rey could scream at her blunder. “I’m so sorry, Ben. That’s not what I meant—”

“It’s ok. Things are a little tense right now.”

“I’m sorry,” she whispers up at him as she sinks into his chest, wrapping her arms tightly around him. He cups the back of her head in one of his large hands and presses a kiss to the top of her head.

“I don’t want to do it,” he says into her hair, his lips tickling her scalp.

“I don’t want you to do it,” she answers honestly.

They sigh in unison and cling to each other in the dark.

All too soon, there’s another knock at the door. This time the knock is firmer, more demanding.

“Ben, it’s time,” Leia’s voice rings sharply through the door.

For a moment, Rey can’t breathe. It is as if the world stops turning and gravity is no longer a force in her plane of existence. Air is trapped within the cells of her lungs. Sound no longer vibrates around her and her ears pop painfully in its absence. A steel band tightens across her chest, testing the limits of her heart as her ribcage shrinks in on itself. Her eyes flutter shut under the weight of being.

“I can’t do this,” Ben gasps, horror muffling every syllable. His embrace becomes impossible tighter around her and Rey truly fears her Alpha will crush her to death in his panic.

“Ben, open the door. It’s time,” Leia commands sharply. The command is white noise, and all Rey can taste is the acrid flavor of Alpha panic.

“I know what I have to do, but I don’t know if I have the strength to do it,” he says, more to himself than anyone else.

Leia knocks on the door again, the staccato sound ricocheting through Rey’s head as the sense of sound comes rushing back. Suddenly she can breathe, the band across her chest disappearing in an instant.

She’s back on the bed again, watching Ben as he mechanically dresses himself. A black shirt pulled over his head. Dark wash denim jeans yanked on, one leg at a time. Her dark prince getting ready to fulfill his dark destiny. She turns away, trying to hide her tears. The knot of dread in her belly coils tighter.

He hesitates at the door. She can feel him standing there, looking at her. She can feel how he needs her to turn around and look at him one last time before he must leave. Rey gulps down a lungful of air, hiccuping on her exhale.

“ _Rey… please_.”

That crack in his voice breaks her. The pounding at the door grounds her.

Faster than she can process, Rey finds herself back on her feet, striding with a confidence she no longer feels. She places a hand on his cheek and gazes into his eyes, willing every ounce of love she possesses to shine through the fear she knows she can’t hide.

A small smile, a too-brief press of warm lips and he’s gone.

Leia hovers in the open doorway. It takes a few blinks before Rey understands the look on Leia’s face is one of defeat. This checkmate move comes with great personal cost, and not just for herself. She’s never seen this look on Leia before, not in person and not in the myriad public photos of her fearless leader. Only Leia’s not looking so fearless anymore. She appears diminished, and tired. So tired.

Rey watches as her boss works her jaw, seeming to want to speak, but not knowing what to say. Another first for the matriarch. Rey turns to the little alarm clock on Ben’s night stand instead of waiting for words that will do little to soothe her soul right now.

How long does it take for your world to forever splinter?

As it turns out, less than a handful of minutes. Less time than it takes for Leia to compose herself and just walk away. Less time than it takes for Rey’s heart to stop hammering in her chest.

Rey feels the energy shift in the air as a hurricane of Ben moves back into the center of the apartment. The sounds of a raging Alpha permeate the air as she and Leia rush into the open space of the living room. The sight of him arrests her, rooting her to the spot behind the long, dark grey sofa. She thought he looked feral when he greeted her before, but that was positively kittenish compared to the beast snarling in front of her now.

Her towering Alpha is hunched low, shoulders rolled forward, and hands curled into claws ready to strike. He blinks at her blindly, his pupils turned black with rage. His lips curl back into a pointed grimace as he tosses his head back and _roars_ , hands curling into fists that piston forward as he turns to the nearest wall. It’s over in a matter of inhales, but the destruction is absolute. Blood is splattered along the wall and all over Ben’s clothes. The wall is littered with holes, several framed pictures lying bent and broken on the concrete floor. Wounded, likely beyond what she can see, he releases one last howl of rage before collapsing to his knees, his arms held out straight, shaking in the aftermath of his fury.

A delicate sob sounds off to the side of the room, causing Rey and Leia to turn towards it at the same time. Valerie stands next to Paige on wobbly feet, Paige clutching her mate to her side in an effort to keep her standing. The pair wear matching expressions of open-mouthed shock, with Valerie on the verge of hysteria. Rey can’t help it, her eyes zero in on the freshly bitten scent gland on the perfect Omega’s perfect little throat, and she sees red.

That fucking scent gland is the reason for this chaos and destruction. The growl seems to come from nowhere, bubbling up from depths Rey has never touched within herself.

“Stop, Rey. You will check on Ben,” Leia commands with a snarl of Alpha authority.

Everyone blinks at Rey in confusion. She shakes off the veil of darkness that nearly swept her away in the moment and nods in agreement. It hadn’t been an Alpha command after all, but it was exactly what Rey needed. Ben’s mother ushers the pair of Omegas back into the bedroom and closes the door behind them, leaving Rey and her bleeding mate alone again.

She steps lightly around the shards of broken class and pieces of drywall strewn about. Her Alpha remains kneeling on the ground, panting and shaking, blood trickling steadily from his shredded and swollen knuckles. Sweat drips from his hair, now hanging in strings around his bent head, shaking with the effort it’s taking for him to calm himself. He’s a dangerous mess.

“Ben,” she whispers shakily. She still can’t see his face, but she can sense the self-loathing cloaking him. When she rounds on him, it’s what she doesn’t see that steals her breath away. There’s blood everywhere, everywhere but around his mouth. Even at this angle, with his head tilted down from her, she can see those trembling lips of his are bereft of Valerie’s blood. She knows from experience that his mouth should be covered in the Omega’s blood right now.

“Ben,” she sobs, her emotions careening within her chest as she crashes to her knees in front of him. She grabs at his chin, nearly punching him in the process as her fingers slipped over his sweat-slicked skin, but finally she’s able to tilt his head up. Her eyes lock onto his lips. Her brow knits with a million questions as her eyes fill with tears. She swipes his lower lip with her thumb before pressing it down to look at his teeth. _To be certain_ , she tells herself. Her eyes dart up to meet his—now a more natural liquid brown than black—even as she knows the answer already.

“I couldn’t do it,” he splutters hoarsely, a grimace flitting across his features at the obvious pain caused by talking after screaming his throat raw.

Rey tackles him then, it’s the only thing she can think to do, except she’s not thinking. Thinking is too dangerous right now. Thinking means having to face the fact that the mission has failed. Ben’s in very real danger, and so is Valerie. Maybe even Rey herself. But, no, she can’t think about any of that. Right now, they are just an Alpha and Omega, clinging together on the stormy cliff face of a mountain they didn’t choose to climb, but they’re determined to conquer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoiler alert: Ben's not going to claim Valerie beyond his sample donation. So while it feels like a cliffhanger ending, it is not. This has always been the plan, it just took a long time to get here. :) Stay tuned, because coming up next is one helluva dinner party at old Snoke's, and you won't want to miss it!
> 
> Also, I'm saving the next smutganza for the claiming. You know the one I'm talking about. ;) It's coming, folks. And SOON!
> 
> Also, also, I will be deleting the previous chapter update posted about the hurricane and evacuation. I have not replied in person to each commenters, but please know how much each and every response is/was appreciated.


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